Through the Test of Fate
by Writer-senpai
Summary: Sora, a teen living in Twilight Town, lives a rather peaceful and normal life. Despite the town having various prestigious schools for the few hundred that can summon weapons known as Keyblades, he attends a normal school for ordinary students. He was content with his normal life but it all changed one night when he met a girl with red hair.
1. Night of Fate

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm really exited about writing my first story on this site. I've been reading a lot for years and decided to try my hand on it. I hope you like it and please tell me what you think.**

* * *

**Through the Test of Fate**

**Chapter 1**

**Night of Fate**

A teen with spiky brown hair ran through the streets of Twilight Town. Almost everything from the streets to the buildings, was colored a dark brown which, when hit by the sun, almost gave the appearance of the twilight just before a sunset, hence its name.

_'Oh man, if I'm late again they're going to keep me after school!' _The teen panted before coming to an involuntary stop, resting his hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath.

He was Sora, a student at a local high school who lived a pretty normal life. Unlike the rich schools that taught those attending them various things he would never learned, his school did not expect much of its students. Just by making a C grade average he was sure to pass but even that proved to be a bit difficult for him.

Like many students he lived in a one-room apartment assigned by the school but unlike many students he did not have a roommate. There were some positives in living alone but the negatives far outweighed them. For instance, he had to keep the place clean all by himself, send annoyingly long monthly reports to the school, and, most importantly, he bought food all by himself. He wasn't a rich kid, far from that and the amount of money his parents sent him every month was not enough for everything he had to buy, not just food but school supplies and other utilities he needed occasionally.

Sora regained his breath and continued to run through the streets.

* * *

The streets were dark as Sora walked home from school. In the end he ended up having to stay after school for having been late to homeroom three days in a row.

"I need a new alarm clock," he decided since his was broken. Being a heavy sleeper meant that without an alarm clock he was unable to wake up early despite how much he would like to do so. It'd be cool to just wake up at the same time everyday without the need of an annoying alarm. Thankfully he had woken up only fifteen minutes after the time in which he usually woke up because of his rumbling stomach.

"Ah," Sora remembered that there was absolutely nothing in his fridge and he would need to go buy some groceries. "Great, all the groceries on sale are probably sold out at this point," he sighed as he passed by an empty park that looked pretty creepy with just one lamp post lighting it.

_'Growl.'_

Sora stopped when hearing something from the park and gulped when not seeing anything. An odd noise in a dark and deserted park was like a horror movie waiting to happen but, luckily, he didn't believe in ghosts or anything.

_'Growl.'_

There was no need to be scared of something that was just a figment of his imagination.

_'Growl. Mumble'_

Sora scowled as he walked towards the source of the noise coming from behind a tree. He gulped as he peeked over the tree and was more than surprised at the sight before him.

A girl with red hair sat against the tree while holding her stomach. She was wearing a school uniform that he hadn't really seen before, a plaid red skirt with a white blouse under a light brown blazer.

_'Growl.'_

"Ahhh... I'm so hungry." The girl mumbled before suddenly snapping her face towards him in alarm, making him take a nervous step back.

Sora waved a hand in greeting before being pinned against the tree, two hands pressing strongly against his torso. His eyes were wide in panic since he was sure that such a slender girl could not be _this _strong.

"Who are you?"

He had to chose his words carefully, "I'm just a student passing by..."

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion before she smirked, "Am I supposed to believe such an obvious lie? If you found me then that means that you're no ordinary person. I was masking my presence as best as I could."

"Yeah, except for your stomach growling at me earlier," Sora said with a roll of his eyes.

The girl appeared shocked before letting him go, "I'm sorry, I should have believe you. You're wearing a diff-err, a school uniform after all."

"No problem but what are you doing out her all alone?"

Her expression grew serious, "It is best that you don't get involved."

"Right..." Sora nodded confidently to hide his utter confusion. There was something _very _strange about this girl. Maybe she was one of those high school kids that still ran around playing in all sorts of imaginary scenarios, if that was the case then the best thing to do was to just play along, "So um...monsters?"

"Shut up!" The girl exclaimed with an embarrassed blush, "What's with your 'oh no I should probably play along with this crazy girl' expression anyway?"

He crossed his arms and looked away to hide the amused grin on his face, "Don't worry, if you like to play around at night chasing imaginary monsters that's fine but you should probably eat first."

"That's not what I'm doing!"

Sora smiled in response.

"Stop smiling like an old man playing along a stupid game with his grandchild!"

"I told you not to worry about it," Sora responded as he patted the girl's head, "Go run along and play with your imaginary pals."

The girl fumed before placing her hands on her hips and giving him a fierce glare, "Alright then, I guess I just have to show you!"

"Show me what?"

He was silenced as the girl raised a hand and materialized a key-shaped blade that shone brightly in the dark park.

"There, you see." The girl beamed as she proudly showed off her weapon.

Sora's eyes were wide in disbelief. The thing on her hand was a Keyblade, the same kind of weapon that all the people going to rich schools could use. It was said that those that could summon one had their lives made since they were guaranteed the best education and also a lot of high-paying jobs only they could do. Everyone knew what a Keyblade was but not many saw them since it was a small crime to summon one in public.

"What's wrong? You were so talkative before but now you're all quiet," the girl smirked before doubling over in pain with an audible gasp and bringing a hand to her side.

"Hey, what's wrong?!"

"I shouldn't have summoned the Keyblade," she gritted her teeth in pain before looking into his eyes, "Get out of here, you've been here more than long enough."

Sora noticed the bit of panic on her voice and grew serious, "What's going on? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Don't worry about me, this is normal," the girl assured, "Just trust me and leave, I'm going home soon too."

Out of some sense of worry he wanted to walk her home but decided against it since she looked genuinely worried for some reason. "Fine, I'll be going then," he nodded at her before leaving.

_'Like hell I am!' _He hid behind one of the trees in the park once he was out of the girl's view. _'I feel like a stalker for some reason...' _

The girl went back to sitting against the tree and held her stomach while her face showed pain. Sora scowled as he watched the scene, it didn't look like she was there because she wanted, in fact it looked like she was hiding from something.

"I found you."

Sora's blood ran cold as an angry voice came out of nowhere. His eyes darted about before they saw a guy walking out of a large set of bushes, he was dressed very oddly with some sort of armor covering his right shoulder, baggy black pants, and a very tight black shirt.

_'Who is this guy?' _Sora wondered as he glanced at the girl to see that her eyes were wide in panic. _'Huh? Is she in trouble with that guy or something?'_

"Kairi," the mysterious guy spoke with a disapproving look. "You should know better than to hide. One of us was bound to find you." Sora's eyes widened as the guy summoned a large light brown Keyblade with a blue handle, "Now come with me if you know what's good for you. Unlike the others I won't show any amount of mercy."

The girl, now known as Kairi, gritted her teeth as she slowly rose to her feet. "Wow, look at you acting all tough when everyone knows you're only ranked highly because you're a suck up," she smirked as she summoned her Keyblade, its wing-shaped silver handle glistening in the moon's rays. She bit back a wince as she pointed her blade at the mysterious guy, "Someone like you can't beat me."

"Really," the mysterious guy frowned before moving faster than the eye could follow and appearing in front of Kairi. Sora watched in shock as the guy pinned her against the tree by the neck and smirked, "You sure talk a lot."

Kairi clawed against the hold on her neck, "Let...me go...T-Terra!"

Terra scoffed, "You'll be coming with me unconscious or no-"

"Stop!"

Kairi froze when she saw the guy from earlier rush towards them, "W-What are you doing?!"

"So you made a friend?" Terra smirked as he let her go and faced the meddling teen, "Just who are you?"

"The name's Sora!" He replied heatedly as he pointed at Terra, "And I wont' let you get away with whatever you're doing to her!"

Kairi coughed before looking at Sora angrily, "Idiot! Just leave already! You don't have to help me, go home or you'll get hurt!"

"If I go home _you'll _get hurt," Sora shot back, his eyes never leaving Terra or his _very _scary looking Keyblade.

"Just leave, you don't even know me! I'm just a stranger, why do you want to risk yourself for me?!"

He frowned in response, "Why not? What kind of crazy person would just leave someone who's in trouble? I don't care if I've known your for a second or a year, I won't let anyone get hurt on my watch!"

"You...idiot," Kairi muttered.

Terra chuckled at Sora's words, "You really are a bold one, saying such cool things with no weapon on hand. Don't worry though, I'm not one to attack an unarmed opponent, summon your Keybalde and fight me."

The teen smirked in response, "Who says I need one to kick your ass?"

"Oh?" Terra looked at the scrawny teen in front of him before laughing, "Don't tell me you're just an ordinary student? Do you have a death wish or something?"

Sora clenched his fists. Of course he knew it was crazy to fight someone armed, and with a Keyblade no less, barehanded but he had no choice. Maybe he could give the Kairi girl enough time to get away. It was unlikely that the Terra bastard would wail on him too much, or maybe he would just hit him once and feel bad.

"If you're so adamant about fighting then have this," Kairi spoke up as she slowly walked to Sora's side and handed him her Keyblade. "This is Oathkeeper, a very strong Keyblade. I'm sure even you can use it."

"R-right," Sora took the Keyblade in his hands, surprised with how much heavier it was than he imagined.

Kairi leaned in close to his ear to avoid having Terra hear what she was about to say. "Listen, Terra is much stronger than you and will beat you in just a few minutes," she glanced at the older teen who stood where he was with his Keyblade before continuing with what she was saying, "Try to hold him off a little bit while I regain a bit of my strength, once I do give me Oathkeeper back. I'm pretty sure I can use something to give us enough time to get away."

"Got it," Sora responded as he got in a ready stance.

"You've got to be very stupid to risk your life for a stranger," Terra chuckled as he dropped into his fighting stance, holding his Keyblade at his side and crouching slightly.

Kairi nodded at the teen at her side, "Be careful Sora."

He nodded back before charging in at Terra with a battle cry. The older teen didn't move which gave Sora the chance to swing the blade in a wide arc aimed at his upper body. Terra easily blocked the blow and backtracked as Sora swung once again, this time in an upwards slash that was blocked. He gritted his teeth and lashed out with a flurry of swings which were blocked and dodged in apparent ease.

"You see, the thing about Keyblades is that no matter how strong they are, the user has to have at least a bit of skill to pose a threat," Terra explained as he parried a swing from Sora. "You're so painfully slow and clumsy that it's easy for me to dodge your attacks without the slightest bit of effort," he leaned away from a slash as he continued to speak, "Someone like you is years away from even leaving a single scratch on me."

Sora growled as he swung at Terra, who parried the blow once again and followed up with a kick to his stomach.

_'Damn it!' _Sora landed on his back and was forced roll to his side to avoid an incoming slash from Terra's Keyblade.

"This is bad..." Kairi's eyes were filled with worry as she watched Sora rolling away from Terra's attacks. "Hold on Sora, I just need a bit more time."

Terra scoffed as he gave the teen enough time to get back up. "This has gone far enough but I'll let you come at me once again, might as well give you a chance right?"

"Just make sure you don't regret it!" Sora cried out as he charged in at Terra and swung the Keyblade widely once again. The older teen almost rolled his eyes at how predictable the attack was and swung his blade to parry the attack but, much to his shock, Sora dropped the hold on the Keyblade and moved in closer.

"W-what?!"

"Clench your teeth bastard, cause I'm about to leave more than a scratch!"

Kairi could only watch in disbelief as Sora drew his right arm back before delivering a strong punch to Terra's face. The sound of the punch echoed in the park as Terra fell on the ground with a cry of pain.

Sora panted as he stood over Terra with an aching right fist. The older teen was on his feet in just a few moments and held his bloody nose in pain.

"You're going to pay for-"

"Now Sora!" Kairi cried out suddenly, having gone to retrieve her Keyblade while Terra was distracted. "Take this!" She pointed her blade at the older teen before releasing a blinding flash of light.

Terra screamed in pain as he covered his eyes, "Ahh! Dammit!"

Kairi quickly took Sora's hand and ran.

* * *

After running for what seemed like hours for Sora, the two finally came to a stop on a busy street. The two leaned against a building's wall while panting.

"Do...you think we got away?"

"Yeah," Kairi responded, "We should find a place to hide though, he's probably looking for us right now."

Sora nodded absently as he finally took a good look at Kairi. It wasn't until now that he realized how tired she looked, she had bags under her eyes, beads of sweat rolled down her face, and she looked a bit pale.

"Let's hide in my apartment," Sora offered, figuring that she would need a bed to sleep in and get better.

Kairi looked down for a moment in apparent thought before looking back at him and nodding, "Sounds good, even with all of his resources I doubt he could find out where you live."

"Let's go."

* * *

Luckily, they were able to easily find a taxi in the busy street to take them to Sora's apartment. Unluckily for him though he used the money he had planned to use to buy groceries.

"This is where you live?" Kairi asked in a very surprised voice.

Sora scoffed angrily as he took out the key to his apartment, "It's no rich school apartment but it'll do." He entered the key to the lock and opened the door, revealing a small wooden floor living room and a glass sliding door leading to a small balcony with a place to hang clothes. "Make yourself at home."

He led her into the apartment before closing the door behind him and locking it.

"Hmm... It doesn't look like this place has two rooms."

"Don't worry I'll sleep on the couch," he responded as he took off his shoes and sat on the single couch in the living room. "So tell me, why was that guy chasing you?"

Kairi sighed as she sat on the bed in the corner of the room, "It's best if you don't get involved."

Sora rolled his eyes as he rested his feet on the small coffee table near the couch, "If you didn't notice, I punched the guy on the face. I'm pretty involved if you ask me."

"You're right," she smiled at his words before sighing once again. "As you probably know, I'm a Keyblade Wielder and attend one of the most prestigious schools in Twilight Town like many others. How well you do in school is reflected by which club you join, I ended up being recruited to one of the best clubs in school... Back then I had no idea of what the true purpose of the club was but when I found out, I tried to tell someone about it but was caught before I could. I managed to get away but many of them are searching for me."

"When did you escape?"

"Yesterday," Kairi replied, "I had to fight another club member in order to escape but was hurt in the process, that's why I was hiding in the park."

Sora crossed his arms, "So what are we going to do about this?"

"Huh?"

"I asked what we are going to do about this? There has to be some way to get that club to stop chasing after you."

Kairi shook her head, "No Sora, I plan on doing this alone."

"Sounds like a good idea, I mean you were doing so good before," he rolled his eyes before looking away, "I can't in my right mind let you do this alone. Let me help you in some way."

She looked at him as though he were crazy before smiling slightly and looking down, "You really are a fool."

He smiled back, "Funny, I was thinking the same thing." Seeing as she was probably hungry he got off the couch and went over to his small kitchen to open the refrigerator, "I didn't have time to buy any groceries but there has to be something to eat in here..." he looked through the fridge before finding a couple of eggs, "Hmm... Hey Kairi, how do scrambled eggs sound?"

"I'm okay with anything, thank you."

"Alright," he took the eggs out, got a frying pan, and got to work. Silence filled the apartment, making the two uncomfortable until Sora decided to speak, "So, how old are you?"

Kairi looked his way a bit thrown off by the casual question but decided to answer, "I'm sixteen."

He looked away from the stove to look at her oddly, "Really? I figured you'd be at least a year younger than me."

"How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen too," he answered as he got a nearby spatula to scramble the eggs before his eyes suddenly widened in realization, "Crap. I forgot to do my homework... My teacher is going to be pissed."

Kairi found herself smiling, it was nice to be able to have a normal conversation. The last few days had been tense so she was more than glad to be able to sit back and relax for what seemed like a long time. Also, she remembered that she had been a bit curious about what normal schools did she had never attended one.

"What's your homework about?"

"Hmm?" Sora scowled in thought before answering, "Geometry stuff and a history paper."

"Geometry?" Kairi repeated a bit surprised before grinning, "I learned that a few years ago, maybe I could help you out."

_'Figures that her school would be years ahead of mine...' _he thought with a chuckle. "Sounds great," he answered before turning off the stove and getting a couple of plates out, "Food's ready."

* * *

Terra walked across the dark streets of Twilight Town. Some dried blood lingered on his nose and his eyes were still stinging. He made a vow to get back at those two, specially the Sora guy that couldn't even summon a Keyblade.

"I should have guessed that someone like you couldn't get the job done."

"Isa," he stopped walking and spoke without turning around, "What makes you think that I've failed?"

The person known as Isa smirked, arms crossed, as he moved to stand in front of Terra, "Judging by your appearance you had a run in with Kairi. Knowing you, you probably underestimated her and paid for it."

"You talk as if she's strong," Terra frowned, "I may not have known her personally but I know for a fact a new member is not stronger than me."

"Don't be so naïve," Isa replied, "Were she someone else running around with information we would have just killed her, but she is different. It's the reason we let her join us, because despite being a new member she is already stronger than most, including you."

"There's now way that's true! I met her just now and she was no problem at all!"

Isa shook his head, "She's weakened from a previous fight she won just last night, a fight with _number six._"

"T-that's impossible!" Terra stammered in disbelief, "Numbered members are the strongest in the whole town, maybe even the world, how could someone like her defeat any of them?!"

"You should have seen it," Isa replied with a far off expression, "Their fight was something out of this world but then again that's to be expected of them."

"What do you mean?"

Isa smirked, "Let me explain something to you. The reason so many of us are trying to capture her is because she is severely weakened from her fight. So much in fact that the weakest members could take her out, no, even a normal student could probably defeat her."

"So what's so special about her that everyone's trying to capture her?"

"Because she's one of the few able to defeat the Keyblade Wielder ranked as the sixth strongest out of the top twenty members... A brand new member that rose through the ranks is no time... Whoever catches Kairi will be given a great reward, she is the fourth strongest Keyblade Wielder there is after all."

* * *

"I got an idea," Kairi spoke in the dark room. She was currently laying on the comfy bed with a warm blanket protecting her from the cold winter night.

"What is it?" Sora asked from his spot on the couch. He had a small white blanket over his body that only managed to reach up to his chest.

Her eyes seemed to glimmer with worry as she turned to her side in order to meet Sora's curious eyes. "First I have to ask and warn you again," her voice was gentle and laced with worry, "Are you sure you want to do this? I wouldn't blame you if you decide to have no part in this. To be honest, it's a bit too much to process that I'm currently sleeping in the same room with someone I just met."

"Of course I'll help you," he replied almost instantly, sounding slightly offended at being questioned over it again, "What did you mean about sleeping in the same room as me anyway? Are you actually thinking that I'll do something to you."

"Not at all," Kairi replied with a smile, "I don't know what it is about you but I feel like I can trust you. Maybe because no one else would have helped me out if they were in your situation."

Sora looked away, "It's because of something that happened a few months ago. Ever since then I promised myself that I would always help out those that needed it, no questions asked."

She was tempted to ask why, mostly out of curiosity rather than to confirm his honesty. Sora gave the impression of being completely trustworthy, almost like he was perfectly transparent when speaking to her. That's why she thought that he could actually help her, not only that but he managed to land a solid hit on the eighteenth strongest Keyblade Wielder, Terra.

"If you're completely sure then..." Kairi closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. Sora was almost taken aback by the amount of determination burning in her eyes, it was like he was looking at someone else.

"Then, as a way for you to defend yourself... I'll give you the ability to summon a Keyblade."


	2. Keyblade

**A****/N: What's up guys? I bring you a new update today and, since I forgot to say it even though you already know, this is an AU. Anyway, thanks a lot to those of you that put this story in their favorites, are following it, and left a review; it means a lot to know that you like it. But yeah, here's today's chapter and I hope you like it.**

* * *

**Though the Test of Fate**

**Chapter 2  
**

**Keyblade**

Sora had always regarded himself as a normal person. Other than a certain incident that happened around six months ago, his life had been pretty bland and boring but it didn't mean that he hated it. Who would be against living peacefully without much to worry about anyway? Going to college, finding a job, finding the right person, settling down, and starting a family; the basis of a good normal life that many planned on getting one day.

_'Crap!'_

He let out a yelp and was violently ripped away from his thoughts as an explosion went off right before him. Coming to a complete halt just in time to avoid the blast, he snapped his head towards the grinning girl standing on top of a slide.

After meeting her only for a day he knew for a fact that his normal life was over.

"Hey! Don't be so serious!"

Kairi smiled smugly, "It's your fault for being distracted Sora. You might want to stop since I could seriously hurt you."

"Then stop shooting those things at me! You could kill me!"

She smirked and pointed her Keyblade at him. A small yellow orb of light slowly formed at the tip of her blade, making Sora swallow nervously. "In order for someone to summon a Keyblade they must be in actual danger. What? Did you think that I would just say a few magic words and _'BAM' _you're a Keyblade Wielder?"

"Yes, to be honest, I did."

"You're absolutely wrong!" Kairi shot the orb of light at the teen who barely managed to jump away in a panicked manner.

_'Damn...' _Sora panted before his eyes widened when seeing the girl charge up another orb of light. He didn't have to think twice and was on the run in a manner of seconds.

His breathing grew jagged as he wiped away the sweat on his forehead that was getting on his eyes. If he didn't think of something quick she would end up killing him. He half-hoped that the weird technique she used would wear out so that someone could help him. To be honest, it still freaked him out. Not only was everything black and white but the sun, or anything for that matter, was not moving. Thankfully the many people that had been on the park prior to her weird technique, had disappeared completely since he was sure he would've freaked out if he saw those people frozen in time.

"To think this is my first day of the training she said she was going to give me..." Sora lamented, "I don't even have a Keyblade yet, how much crazier are things going to get?"

"Stop getting distracted!"

Like before, an orb of light exploded on the ground only steps away. His eyes widened to the size of saucers as the explosion knocked him back several feet.

Kairi watched him fall on the ground with a cry before she sighed and slung Oathkeeper over her shoulders, "Come on Sora it hasn't even been three hours."

"Why are we doing this anyway?" Sora asked for what probably was the hundredth time. He shakily rose to his feet and dusted off his uniform that consisted of black slacks, a white dress shirt, and a dark green jacket, "I was getting ready for school when you just dragged me out of the apartment. I didn't even eat breakfast! Did you know that's the most important meal of the day?!"

She rolled her eyes, "Stop whining already."

"I'm not whining," he shot back angrily.

"You are!"

"Am not!"

"Are to!"

"Am not!"

"Are to!"

Annoyed, tired, and sleepy, Sora decided he had had enough and turned his back on her, "Enough! I'm tired of this stupid training!"

"Quitting already?" She crossed her arms while giving him an angry look, "What happened to what you were saying yesterday? You were actually kind of cool with your whole, 'I'll protect a total stranger' facade."

"I still haven't quit, I'm just...tired."

Kairi frowned at that before her eyes flashed in recognition, "It's time."

Without warning she ran straight for him at a fast speed that completely threw him off guard.

Sora could only watch as her Keyblade was enveloped in a bright light as she grew closer, "What are you-?!"

His voice died in his throat as Kairi drove the Keyblade into his chest. He could've sworn that he heard a pin drop before a massive amount of panic struck him all at once but before he could scream like a madman he noticed something. The Keyblade's handle stuck out of his chest, the blade was clearly piercing his skin but...there was no pain.

"Once a person is drained of their energy, their innermost power can emerge..." Kairi explained when seeing Sora's questioning look. She gazed at the bright hilt of Oathkeeper before grinning weakly. "I noticed that you were different the first time we met. Back then I was surprised that you actually found me because I was using a technique to keep my identity completely hidden, no one could see or hear me, well, except for people that have the power to summon a Keyblade."

"I realized that you had power somewhere inside you," Kairi continued. She let the words linger briefly before she met his eyes and smiled, "Now I have unlocked it."

Sora looked at her with a bit of nervousness, "What's happening? I feel something weird in my chest."

"You're powers are surfacing," she explained and stepped away from him, Oathkeeper fading away.

He watched in fascination as his right arm shone brightly before raising to chest-level involuntarily. It should have freaked him out but somehow it didn't. Instead he remained quiet as the light settled on his hand which opened up by itself.

"This is..."

"Your Keyblade."

An explosion of light erupted from Sora's palm abruptly, making him cry out in shock and shield his eyes with his free hand but it disappeared as soon as it started. His eyes narrowed in confusion before widening in surprise when he felt a weight on his hand, not only that but he was actually gripping something.

A foreign power ran through his body as he finally got a good look at what was on his hand. A gold handle, a silver blade in the shape of a key... There was no question... It was a...

"Keyblade," Sora muttered to himself in fascination.

Kairi smiled, "Now we are ready for the actual training."

He grinned in response. The amount of energy and power running through him was amazing, was this how Kairi felt? If so, then he had been missing out! This was amazing! He felt like he could do anything!

"Then let's get started," he responded confidently.

* * *

"_Then let's get started_," Kairi repeated his earlier words in a mock voice making the teen at her side glare at her. "Did you really think that you wouldn't be tired after summoning a Keyblade for the first time?"

"Shut up," Sora muttered with his arms crossed as he leaned against his seat on the train, "How was I supposed to know that anyway?"

Not a minute after summoning his Keyblade, Sora had collapsed from exhaustion, his blade disappearing with a flash of light the second he touched the ground. Kairi had explained that Keyblades reflected the state of their wielder and that they would disappear without warning if their wielder had no more strength. That's why she told him that they wouldn't be able to start his training until at least a day had passed since his body had been worked to exhaustion, not just from him dodging her attacks but from calling out a power that had been dormant within him for years.

"So," he spoke up, gaining her attention, "What are we going to do for the rest of the day? It's only three o'clock right now and, more importantly, we are out of food."

Kairi nodded in understanding, "I _could _get some money but I don't want to risk anyone finding us."

"Do you have your money in a bank or something?"

"No, it's on my dormitory."

"Then they would have definitely found us! Why did you say risk like there was a possibility that you wouldn't be caught?!"

"Shut up, I was just thinking out loud. Besides, you don't even know where I live! My dormitory could be somewhere hidden."

"Yeah right," Sora rolled his eyes, "Let me guess, it's a very obvious dormitory next to your school." Seeing her tense up, he couldn't help but laugh, "I knew it!"

"Oh shut up," Kairi glared before punching his arm, making him cry out in pain.

"What the hell are you doing?! I'm still hurt from today!"

"I know!" She shot back as she continued to punch his arm, earning yelps of pain.

_We have arrived at our next stop._

Kairi stopped, hearing the announcement. "Let's go Sora, this is our stop."

He nodded while nursing his arm and the two got out of the train. There weren't many people out at the time which he guessed was because most that took the train were students who were currently in class like he should have been.

This station wasn't too far from his apartment but they couldn't go there just yet since there was nothing to eat. "I think I could call my parents and ask them to send me money right now," he mused, "But then again, they'll probably ask a bunch of questions."

Kairi looked at him in wonder before he suddenly raised a fist with a very determined expression on his face.

"I will call my parents."

"Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

Sora looked to the side with a blank expression, "You have no idea how my family is. If we're lucky, my dad will answer the phone."

"Hmm?" Kairi let out in confusion.

* * *

_"OH MY GOODNESS SORA! HOW ARE YOU?!"_

Sora pulled the phone away from his ear, "I'm good mom."

"WHY ARE YOU CALLING THOUGH?! SHOULDN'T YOU BE AT SCHOOL?!"

"Yeah, about that..."

Kairi watched the scene with an amused smile. Sora hadn't been kidding when he said that his mom was a bit on the energetic side and loud when happy. She continued to watch in amusement, the way Sora held the phone with a panicked expression was pretty funny.

A nearby flier on a wall suddenly caught her eye, its bright colors glaring against the sun's rays, "Hmm... _Super Deluxe Meal Special_..." She brought a hand to her chin as she read the flier's contents before she gasped in panic, "It ends at four?!"

She was at Sora's side at an instant, shaking his shoulders to get his attention, "Hurry up Sora we have to move!"

_"HUH? DID I JUST HEAR A GIRL TALKING?! WHAT?! WHAT'S THIS?! DOES MY LITTLE SORA HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?"_

Sora glared at a sheepish looking Kairi before answering his mom, "It's not like that she's just a classmate. We're kind of in a hurry though and I was calling to see if you could send me next month's money today, it's only a few days away anyway."

"SURE, NO PROBLEM AT ALL!"

Kairi stepped away to give him some privacy, feeling that she had intruded enough. However, before she got too far she noticed a look of dread wash over Sora followed up by a crimson blush. Intrigued, she moved a bit closer jsut in time to hear him whisper, _'L-Love you too, bye.'_

Sora put his phone away with a sigh, dealing with his parents required a lot of his patience. "Alright let's go find some place to-" He froze, a cold sweat running down his face when seeing Kairi suppressing her laugher with a hand. A blush burned brightly on his cheeks, "Dammit! What did you hear?!"

"N-Nothing..." Kairi replied before laughing loudly.

"Let's go get the money already!"

* * *

Sora fought the urge to ask about the empty plate on Kairi's side of the table, somehow he knew that asking how she was able to eat the '_Super Deluxe Meal_' wasn't polite. Instead he crossed his arms and let his eyes wander on the restaurant. It was a pretty simple family restaurant with light brown walls and comfy seats, there weren't many people seated on the various tables but it was to be expected since they were still in school hours.

"Okay, let's talk about your training," Kairi broke him out of his inner musings before continuing, "We'll start tomorrow morning, I'm sure you'll be able to summon the Keyblade by then."

"Wait a minute," Sora held up a hand, "What about school? I don't mind helping you but I can't keep skipping school."

"Tomorrow's Saturday," she responded without missing a beat, "Your training will begin with-"

"One more thing," he interrupted, earning an annoyed look. "You never explained that thing you did in the park. All you did was drag me out of the apartment, take me to the nearest park, and use some weird technique that made everyone disappear and turned everything black and white."

Kairi took a sip of her lemonade before answering his question, "That's a technique we Keyblade Wielders use in order to train in open spaces. Our school does have places to train but they're always being used by somebody. In order to get us to train, they taught us how to use that magic spell."

"You can use magic?"

"I guess," she shrugged, "I don't know what it exactly is since it takes up our own energy but calling it 'magic' seems a lot easier. Anyway, the spell I used is called Stop, it can freeze time in a small area so long as I keep a constant flow of my energy on it."

Sora couldn't help but look at her in a new light. Even though she was, in her own words, very weakened right now she could still do something he was sure most people couldn't do, it was amazing.

"Now, onto your training," she grinned and crossed her arms in an almost smug posture, "Since you're really weak right now..."

_'Yup, smug alright.'_

"I'm going to have to make you strong quickly," Kairi explained as her face grew serious, "I really don't see my powers returning to normal soon and the Keyblade Wielders looking for me already know I'm on this part of town so if I were to guess I'd say that we have at least one week to train peacefully. After that it'd be too dangerous to go out at all."

"That's no time at all," Sora responded worriedly.

Kairi smiled, "Don't worry, one week is more than enough time. Usual training could take years to make you as strong as the members of my club but we're not going to be doing that sort of training." She held up her hand and raised four fingers, "In only four days you'll be strong enough to hold up your own against them."

That was not possible. She had to be joking. There was no way he could get _that _strong in so little time. Sora didn't think little of himself but was perfectly aware of his limitations, he couldn't even jog for more than five minutes before stopping to regain his breath. Even when he fought Terra and landed a punch he knew better than to think it was because he was strong or skilled, the grim truth was that he had gotten a lucky punch that wouldn't work again.

"Calm down," Kairi waved him off as she took a drink of her lemonade. She finished her drink and gave him a confident grin that reflected in her eyes, "Trust me, you're going to be ready in just four days. The time after that will make you stronger too."

Sora remained a bit skeptical but found her optimism to be infectious. "Fine then," he grinned, feeling strangely positive for some reason, "I'll try my best."

* * *

Isa was a person of simple tastes. He didn't care for most things like money or pride, no, what he cared for was power.

After all, power was everything. It was why he had trained himself to become powerful enough to experience all sorts of battles with other equally powerful foes. His fascination with it was so strong that just at the age of fourteen he had been accepted into the most famous yes secretive club of his school. Fast-forward four years and he was ranked highly among his comrades.

But it wasn't enough. Compared to _them _he was still a weakling.

"Where are you hiding number four?" He smirked to himself as he leaned against a small shop's wall.

To say he was fascinated with the new member would be an understatement. He appreciated power and it was something the girl had in abundance. In only a few months she had shot past the ranks until she was ranked highly enough to only be challenged by a handful of Keyblade Wielders. As of now only number one, two, three, and five, the one to weaken her severely, could put up a fight with her.

His smirked broadened as he thought back to the fight between numbers four and five. "Just a couple of numbers between and yet, the gap couldn't be any larger," he mused as he replayed the fight in his mind. He had seen things he had thought unimaginable, the fact that they had so much power was unthinkable.

"But I'll be that powerful soon as well," he chuckled to himself as his eyes flashed dangerously.

The reward for finding the girl and bringing her back to the superiors, a Keyblade made with the best technology. Said to hold enough power to put a lowly member among the top ranks. It was no surprise why everyone was looking for her, well except for the highest ranking members.

He shrugged to himself before pushing himself off the wall and walking away from the shop, keen on finding the girl and get his reward.

* * *

Sora's brow furrowed in deep concentration as his serious blue eyes looked between two detergents. One claimed the bold statement that it was the best yet cheapest detergent, while the other claimed that its quality and price were unmatched. Both were the same price and even the same size...

_'This is always a difficult choice,' _he smirked as a bead of sweat trailed down his face.

"Just get this one," Kairi took one of the detergents and put it in the basket. "Seriously, just pick one and go. What are you some kind of housewife?"

Sora scoffed, "I don't expect a rich girl like you to understand the need for us normal people to look for the best deals."

"Whatever, let's just get going already. I'm pretty sure you have all you need now."

He nodded absently as he scanned over the items in the cart, "Yup. Looks like we're done."

With that he paid for the groceries and left the store with Kairi following behind him. Once outside he looked up at the sky to see that the sun was still high in the sky.

"Wow, this day has gone on forever," he thought out loud as he and Kairi walked on a sidewalk.

"Of course it feels that way," Kairi said, "After all, we must have been on that Stop spell for at least three hours, well, to us at least."

He gaped at her at that, "Wait, you're saying we were actually frozen in time?!"

She smiled proudly at that, "Of course. Didn't I tell you that?"

"Yeah but I thought we just disappeared for three hours and then reappeared on the same spot once we were done."

"Of course not. Wouldn't it be dangerous if we just appeared somewhere, I mean, what if there was someone standing exactly where we appeared?"

"Maybe we'd just push him away?"

"No, I think the guy standing there would explode or something."

"Why would he explode? It doesn't make any sense. I think he would be pushed off by the energy we'd use to appear again."

"That's wrong. There's no way a spell would be that specific."

"What do you mean by that? Your Stop spell looks pretty specific to me."

"Of course it isn't. All spells have a set effect, that's all it is."

"But if you look at it like-"

"Enough!" Kairi finally exclaimed, "I feel like we were going way off-course."

Sora nodded, "You're right. I got carried away there."

"Me too," she admitted with an amused smile. As they reached an intersection she suddenly thought of something, "Hey Sora, I have some more things to explain to you."

"What things?"

Her eyes narrowed, "About the Keyblade. For example, did you know that there are some Keyblades actually created by scientists?"

"Really?!"

She nodded, "The first one was made around two years ago, at least that's what I heard. But despite that not everyone knows about them since they're sold to very rich people who are ordered to keep quiet."

Sora crossed his arms, a frown on his face, "If they have the power to keep rich people quiet then it's probably a very powerful company that makes them, right?"

"That's right," Kairi responded with a grin, glad to see that he was actually paying attention to what she was saying. Sometimes he just zoned out and nodded like an idiot. "In any case, these Keyblades have several different abilities and unlike normal Keyblades they don't need to be unlocked through training."

"Wait. Keyblades have abilities?"

"Yeah. Like my Keyblade, Oathkeeper for example. It can create a blinding flash of light and shoot orbs of light that explode upon contact."

Sora appeared irritated at her words, "Yes, I remember now."

Kairi giggled to herself before continuing, "So like I was saying, these Fake Keyblades are much stronger than your brand new Keyblade, that's why I'm going to need to train you in order to spot and counter these fakes."

"How am I supposed to counter them anyway?"

"Don't worry, it's pretty simple actually. All of the fakes have a spot with concentrated power which, if destroyed, shatters the Fake Keyblade instantly."

"Wow, to think they had such an obvious weakness."

Kairi nodded in agreement, "Even so they can be a bit tricky since this certain spot varies from blade to blade."

Sora absorbed this new information and felt a bit overwhelmed. Maybe agreeing to help her hadn't been the smartest choice but even so, just by glancing at her face, he knew that he couldn't walk way now. He didn't regret helping her but he realized that he had been under the impression that it wouldn't be too hard which was really naive on his part.

Both settled in a comfortable silence as they made their way to Sora's apartment. A cool breeze washed over them as more and more people occupied the streets, many of them students that had just gotten out of school.

"So what are we having for dinner?" Kairi suddenly asked in a carefree manner.

Sora eyed the bags he was carrying before answering, "I don't know yet."

She smiled and rubbed her chin in apparent thought, "If I may make a suggestion, we should eat some of that meat you bought."

"No way," he answered almost immediately with a stern expression.

"Eh? Why?"

"Because it's supposed to last. I already blew money I shouldn't have on the restaurant so we'll have to be more conservative on what we eat."

Kairi glared and pointed an accusing finger at his face, "Why are so stingy? Are you some kind of old man trapped in a younger body?"

He crossed his arms and looked away with a stern expression, not budging.

"Fine but don't expect me to go easy on you tomorrow," she warned and smirked when seeing his sudden look of worry, "You probably already figured it out but the actual training will be nothing like what we did earlier."

"R-really?"

"Yes, really," she placed her hands on her hips with an air of superiority, "I'm going to run you into the ground and not stop even if you beg me to."

"As if," he scoffed despite the dread he felt at her words. She was not kidding. There was no doubt in his mind that she meant every word but even so, he wanted to get the last word in the argument, "I can last a whole day if I wanted to, if anything the one that's going to end up a sweaty mess is you!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

The two glared at each other before they noticed that they were in a very public place and had been anything but silent during their argument. Both flushed when hearing some of the thing the people around them were saying.

"It's good to be young."

"W-What are they saying in broad daylight?!"

"Wow! I've never seen a masochist before!"

"Those two..."

Sora and Kairi looked at each other blankly before wordlessly running home.

"Damn you Sora! This is all your fault!"

"You're the one who started it!"


	3. The First Day

**A/N: I won't take up much of your time but I just wanted to thank those that reviewed and those that added the story to their alerts and favorites. It means a lot to know you guys like the story.**

* * *

**Through the Test of Fate**

**Chapter 3**

**The First Day  
**

"Before we begin I have a few more things to explain," Kairi began as she did a quick look around the park just to make sure they were safe. She could actually feel herself growing more paranoid with each passing day ever since she first escaped her school that had become some sort of prison. _'No,' _she shook those thoughts away, 'I'm perfectly safe here. I won't have to go back there any time soon.'

Unaware of her inner turmoil Sora yawned while rubbing his arms. Leave it to Kairi to wake him up at six in the morning, at least she had the decency to let him wear a jacket over his clothes not that that was any consolation when he was feeling so crappy.

"Okay listen up," Kairi spoke up once she calmed down. "Before you start training you have to understand that Keyblades are not _given _to us like you probably think. They come from within us, an extension of ourselves, a manifestation of our inner powers if you will. This means that whatever shape your Keyblade takes is caused by what sort of person you are."

"Also, you should know that Keyblades are divided in two different types," she continued, "They can be either _Light _or _Dark, _knowing the difference could help you in the future. You'll usually be able to tell them apart by their looks alone but some are a little more tricky. That's why I'm also going to teach you how to _sense _Keyblades."

Sora looked at her oddly, "_Sense _them? What do you mean by that?"

"A Keyblade is constantly emitting energy even if its just behind held in your hand. This power can be sense if given the training," she waved a hand is dismissal, "Don't worry though. Once you learn how to sense them you'll be able to tell Light from Dark without any trouble." With that said she got off the bench they were sitting on and placed her hands on her hips, "In any case, it's time to start your training."

Sora was pretty happy by just sitting on the bench but reluctantly stood up. A cold breeze washed over the area, making the groggy teen grumble under his breath before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and looking at Kairi with a renewed sense of confidence.

"Let's get started then."

* * *

"_Lesson number one! Fight me!"_

Sora was breathing heavily, sweat and grime on his face as he tightened the grip on his Keyblade's hilt. Not for the first time, he was astounded by the amount of strength Kairi possessed despite her looks. If anyone actually made the bold claim that her being able to leave small craters on the ground from her attacks wasn't surprising, then he would like to punch that person on the face.

Drawing in a shaky breath he prepared for what was to come since, despite him being very tired, it didn't look like Kairi was going to give him any slack. He'd concluded that in the beginning since all of her attacks were fast and deathly accurate but part of him hope that she would take pity on his tired self.

"Come on Sora, stop slacking around!" Kairi reprimanded as she charged in and brought the Keyblade over her head.

Sora gritted his teeth as he blocked the incoming blow, receiving the expected recoil from the action that made his legs buckle under the impressive power under the blow. Grunting slightly, he managed to push the blade away and jump away to get a little bit of breathing room.

Kairi smiled, satisfied with his improvement. Despite them being in one of her Stop spells, she could tell that they had been training for at least two hours. During that time Sora had gotten a little better at blocking her attacks but she was still going easy on him, if it were a real fight she wouldn't be so obvious with her attacks.

Grinning she addressed the teen, "You better be ready because I'm about to push even harder."

He gulped in response but held the Keyblade in front of him protectively.

* * *

"_Lesson number two! Physical training!"_

"One-hundred... One... Two... Three..." Sora grunted as he continued his second set of push-ups. With his initial excitement over being able to do push-ups without much problem gone, he could feel his muscles groan in pain with each movement.

According to what Kairi said, with his hidden power unlocked his physical strength should be much better than before. In order to see what the extent of it was she decided to have him to push-ups until he dropped. While it had been a breeze during the first fifty, he could feel the exhaustion washing over him.

Standing next to him with her arms crossed was Kairi who appeared to be under some strain of her own. Her breathing was uneven and her brow covered in sweat. She was visually pale and knew for a fact that she was pushing herself too harshly.

Four hours had passed since Sora's training began and she could feel herself growing weaker and weaker from keeping the spell in place. She'd usually be able to keep it in place for at least six hours but in her weakened state it looked like she was at her limit.

_'I'll wait until Sora's done,' _she told herself as she watched him go. Much to her luck or lack thereof considering how hard it was for her to keep the Stop spell going, it looked like Sora had a lot of stamina. He looked like hell, both from their earlier and current training, but he was barely slowing down.

Kairi's brow furrowed in concentration as she quietly tried her best to keep the spell in place.

* * *

"Ninety-nine... One-hundred!" Sora grunted dramatically as he collapsed on the ground breathing heavily. His hair was wet with sweat as was the case with most of his body.

Eight freaking sets of a hundred! He didn't know whether to be proud or freaked out since only two days ago he could only manage a mere forty push-ups before falling over.

"Please tell me we're done for today," he pleaded to the girl that had watched over him. Much to his relief the black and white space around him faded to reveal the very colorful world he learned to appreciate after being in that monochrome place.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as he hard a loud thud and turned his head to see Kairi sprawled on the ground with her eyes closed. Quickly pushing himself off the ground, not without groaning loudly, he crawled over to Kairi and tried to shake her awake.

"Hey Kairi wake up," he shook her by the shoulders but she would not wake up. "Damn, I need to get her to a hosp-" he stopped himself, knowing that the idea was ludicrous since it would probably help those guys in her club find her. Biting his lip, Sora stood up and carried Kairi in his arms, "Don't worry Kairi... I'll get you home."

Despite his arms feeling as if they were going to fall off under the strain, he tried his best to hold on so that she could get some rest.

* * *

Sora watched over Kairi's unconscious form laying on the bed with a worried frown. It had been a few hours since he brought her back, during that time he had taken a shower, made food, and even did his homework. A sigh escaped his lips when he realized that he would get in trouble for missing school yesterday since he did not have the best attendance.

"One problem at a time," he told himself as he watched Kairi sleep peacefully under the covers of the bed. "Man... What am I supposed to do here?" His arms crossed as a frown etched on his face when he noticed that the girl seemed a bit red on the face, "Hmm?"

He placed his hand to her forehead and withdrew it in surprise. "You're burning up!"

There was no way she would get better on her own now. For that he would need to get her some medicine but he didn't really have any at the moment since he didn't get sick often. With a nod to himself he grabbed his jacket from the couch and left the apartment but not before leaving a note at her bedside just in case she woke up. The last thing he needed was for her to try to look for him.

* * *

Sora had, after meeting Kairi, thought that he would never be surprised by something ever again. Not only was she a Keyblade Wielder but she had even given him the ability to become one himself. She had some amazing abilities and was very strong, experiencing all of this in only a couple of days he figured that nothing would ever top those things.

Until now...

"Meow~"

A girl.

"Meow~"

Trying to communicate with a cat sitting on a stone fence.

"Meow~"

All the while having a stoic expression on her face, as if what she was doing was perfectly normal.

_'Okay, you did it world. You proved me wrong again.'_

Heaving a sigh, he approached the girl against his better judgment. Had it not been for her odd behavior he would have found her to be extremely cute. With her shoulder-length black hair, bright blue eyes that seemed to sparkle, and a petite frame, she could have passed off as an idol.

_'Wait a minute! What if she _is _an idol? Am I walking straight into the arms of some sort of romantic comedy?!'_

Pushing away those thoughts, he stood at the girl's side and glanced at the white cat on the fence, "Is it yours?"

The girl glanced at him briefly. "No," she answered as her eyes found the cat once again, "She had no owner."

"I see," Sora nodded, "Um... What are you doing here then?"

"I want it."

"What?"

"The cat... I want it."

Right on cue the cat looked at the two before jumping to Sora's arms. He let out a gasp as he held the cat to his chest, confusion written all over his face. The cat began to purr, making him smile before turning back to the girl who was sulking with her arms crossed.

"Um. What?"

The girl looked to her side, "Why?"

Sora cocked his head to the side.

"Why didn't the cat come to me?" The girl asked dejectedly.

Chuckling nervously, the teen held out the cat to her, "Here, you can hold her. I was the closest to the fence so that's probably the reason it jumped on me."

The girl's eyes sparkled in happiness as she smiled and took the cat from Sora, earning a meow from the cat. "Thanks," she held the cat to her chest as she nodded at the nice guy, "You were of great help."

"Don't mention it," he replied sheepishly.

"My name is Xion," she introduced herself with a smile.

Sora grinned, "I'm Sora."

Xion nodded before turning her back on him and walking away, "Nice to meet you Sora. You and I are friends from now on."

He chuckled in response as he watched the girl walk away, her long black coat going past her knees. "What a strange girl..." With a shake of his head, he resumed his walk to the pharmacy. Kairi was still waiting for him.

* * *

Kairi's eyes fluttered open as she took in her surroundings.

"That's weird... Why am I here?" She sat up and became painfully aware of how much her head hurt. Bringing a hand to her head she remembered what happened. "Why did I get carried away? I could have just stopped the spell instead of forcing myself to keep going. Now my powers are going to take longer to come back."

She looked around the empty room and wondered where Sora was but before she could get up to look for him she noticed the piece of paper at the side of the bed.

_Kairi, I went to get some medicine for your fever. I'll be back soon, Sora._

Kairi found herself smiling at his thoughtfulness before resting on the bed and covering herself with the warm blanket. Judging by how cold and sluggish she felt, her fever was still there.

With nothing else to do but rest, Kairi found her thoughts drifting to her current situation. She was on the run from a club, more of an organization really, with her only protection coming from a fresh Keyblade Wielder and whatever she could do in her weakened state. Frowning, she thought back on how it happened.

Back when she first ran away, the sixth strongest Keyblade Wielder had fought her. It was a hard won fight but she got by without using all of her strength. The problem came when the _fifth strongest _found and fought her. His Keyblade's ability was a nasty one and the fight ended up leaving her in her current weakened state. If any of them found her before she could train Sora then...

Feeling herself growing anxious, she pushed those thoughts away and focused on the positives. Sora showed great potential. When someone first summons a Keyblade they gain a boost on their physical abilities, just _how _much and _what _abilities varied on the person but it looked like Sora was above average. To have the stamina to do so many push-ups without stop just a day after summoning his Keyblade was more than impressive, probably on par with the top Keyblade Wielders when they first began. If that wasn't enough, this was just the tip of the iceberg. His powers would grow much more with training and time.

Yes, this would work out. With her special training Sora would be strong enough to fend off most of the people looking for her. Not just for her sake but for his since he was too involved and they would probably hurt him.

Kairi felt a lot more calm as her eyes began to close on their own. A smile etched on her face before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"What are you doing here?"

Sora blankly stared at the girl in front of him. Xion, with the cat in her arms had been waiting for him outside of the pharmacy.

"You're the only one that can help me," she explained as she looked down at the cat, "I don't know how to take care of her."

_'Then why'd you pick her up in the first place?!' _He wanted to scream but instead cleared his throat and decided that he might as well help her, "Okay, tell me what you know about taking care of cats and I'll fill in the blanks."

Xion remained quiet before cocking her head to the side.

"You don't know anything?!"

She nodded.

"Fine, fine. Fine." Sora's right eye twitched as he watched the girl hopelessly. "Okay, I'm gonna take you to buy the essentials. You have money right?" He received a nod in response. Satisfied he motioned for her to follow him as he began to walk, "We'll probably need to buy you a book on taking care of cats...but I really don't have the time to go to the library. Hey. Do you think you could buy one on your spare time?"

"Roger," she saluted, the cat meowing in agreement.

He looked at her oddly before continuing, "Hmm...let's see, what else? Um... Oh! Make sure to feed her properly and let her out to get some exercise. Since cats remain indoor most of the time, you have to watch its weight."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of her," Xion assured as she petted the cat's head affectionately.

Sora smiled as he explained a few more things.

* * *

"All right, you're all set!" Sora announced as he and Xion emerged from a store. She carried two bags on her right hand while she held the cat with the other.

"Thanks a lot Sora, now I feel like I can take care of ten cats if I need to," she announced boldly.

"No, you'll never need to."

Xion smiled at his blunt response, "You're a nice person Sora." The teen blushed at the sudden praise, making the girl grin, "In any case, remember that we are friends now. I'll repay you for helping me one day."

"You don't have to do that," he responded, finding her overly polite quirks charming. "Well, I'll see you later Xion, I need to get going."

"Right. See ya."

Sora watched as she walked away before heading home. At least an hour and a half had passed since he left, hopefully Kairi had rested like she should. A part of him felt responsible for her condition since she'd been helping him train when it happened. The least he could do was help her get better.

With that in mind he walked a bit faster, wanting to get home soon so that he could check on her condition.

It didn't take him long to reach his destination to see a still unconscious Kairi, her face still flushed. He took off his shoes before moving to her side and shaking her awake gently.

"S-Sora," she muttered as she woke up looking a bit disoriented. Weird. She just closed her eyes for a second and he was suddenly there. Had she fallen asleep again?

"I brought you some medicine," Sora showed her a small box of pills. "Let me get you some water," he quickly went over to the sink as the girl watched over him, confusion on her features.

"What time is it?"

"It's a little past noon," he answered as he came back with a glass of water. He handed it to her and sat on the floor, "You know. If you felt bad, you shouldn't have kept the spell going for so long. What if you got worse?"

Kairi smiled as she swallowed the pills with a big gulp of water, feeling really thirsty. "I know. That was really stupid of me. For some reason I thought it would be okay if I continued to use the spell," she admitted before grinning smugly, "But I'm feeling a bit better already so there's no reason for you to worry anymore."

"Who said I was worried?" Sora shot back with his arms crossed as he looked over the girl briefly. It was true. She still looked sick but not as much as when he had brought her home. "Well, looks like your nap made you feel better. Are you hungry?"

"Not really," she answered truthfully. "You know, I just realized something that will help you improve even more."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Experience," her eyes closed as she crossed her arms, "All of the people looking for me have fought in many battles before, both with Keyblade Wielders and...Heartless."

"Oh! I've heard about them!" Sora smiled, finally glad to finally know something that Kairi was going to explain, "Heartless are the manifestation of the darkness of the world. They mostly stay on the outskirts of town. Good thing too since they attack people, right?"

Kairi nodded. "That's mostly correct but you're missing a few things that are only known to Keyblade Wielders," she explained, earning a confused look from Sora. "Firstly, Heartless only gather in the few towns where people with strong hearts live. In order for them to stay out of the towns though, a renowned scientist created self-powered generators to place on these towns where the Heartless gather. The generators keep the Heartless away though I don't exactly know _how. _Anyway, there's only a handful of towns where they gather."

"I see," Sora nodded in understanding, "So does this mean that you're going to have me fight the Heartless?"

She grinned in response, "Of course. Once we're out of the range of the generator, Heartless are easy to lure."

Sora remained quiet, not exactly sure how he felt about fighting some monsters that could claw out his heart.

"Don't worry about it though, most of them are pretty weak and besides, you have a Keyblade."

He lit up at her statement. "You're right," he grinned, "There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Good then we'll find some tonight."

His eyes widened in shock, "W-What? But we already trained today?"

Kairi frowned at him, "Did you really think you would be ready to fight strong Keyblade Wielders by just training a couple of hours in the morning?"

"Yes."

"Well, no. In order for you to be able to actually beat them you'll also need experience and that experience can only be found in actual battle," she explained wisely, "If you were just to fight me all the time then you wouldn't be able to beat Keyblade Wielders that fight differently from me."

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked in confusion, "I know every Keyblade is different but I thought all of them had similar powers when it came down to it."

"Of course not," she sighed, "Some can use long range attacks, others can strengthen their blades, and some can even use hypnotic spells."

He chuckled dryly at the information, "I see..."

"Don't worry about it," Kairi giggled, "Once you get some experience these different types of battle styles won't faze you. Hopefully you'll learn to adapt to each different fighting style."

"Hopefully," Sora repeated with a nervous smile.

* * *

It was dark as Sora and Kairi got out of a train.

"This should be far enough," Kairi nodded to herself as she looked around the mostly deserted station.

They were at a small village about thirty minutes away from town. Thankfully they had left at sunset and it would give them enough time to catch the next train home after they finished with his training. She also felt a lot better now, it looked like the medicine helped her just as much as her catching up on her sleep.

"So where am I gonna fight them?" Sora asked as he clasped his hands behind his head, "I don't really know much about this place so I have no idea where to go."

"Don't worry about it," she waved him off and began to walk, Sora following behind her with a curious expression. "We'll just find a deserted area here, probably a nice grassy plain and then lure them to us."

He scowled in response, "Wouldn't that be dangerous though? What if a Heartless gets away?"

"They won't," she responded bluntly. "We're going to be luring weak ones and even in my current condition I'll be able to help you out if it proves to be too much for you," she finished the last part with a smug grin.

Sora growled at the insult behind her words, "I'm gonna take them all out! You'll see!"

"You sure are a lot more lively than earlier. What happened to your complaining about being too weak after our earlier training?"

He fumed at her words, finding the girl to be back to her annoying self. Part of him was glad but he had thought that she would start to act a bit nicer to him. A smile etched on his face as he thought about her acting nice and realized that he'd rather her act like her normal self.

"This will do." Kairi declared, snapping him out of his thoughts as he found himself standing on a grassy plain on the side of a dirt path leading away from the small village. The only source of light came from a few lamp posts and the town in the distance. "Now we'll have to summon the Heartless," she looked back at him and grinned, "It's actually pretty simple really. All you have to do is bring out your Keyblade."

He nodded and stretched out his hand, eyes glimmering with determination in the darkness.

"Be ready Sora," Kairi warned before he could summon his weapon. "The second you summon it, the Heartless will appear."

Sora smiled in response, "Quit worrying. I'll just beat them and then go home."

The Keyblade appeared on his hand with a bright flash of light as small patches of dark fog gathered before him. Dozens of glaring yellow eyes glowed in the dark as short dark creatures emerged from the fog, their bodies squirming in anticipation.

The Keyblade Wielder took a defensive stance as the Heartless around him prepared to pounce.


	4. An Unforeseen Enemy

**A/N: Thanks a lot for reviewing and adding this story to your alerts and favorites. I hope you continue to like my story.**

**Through the Test of Fate  
**

**Chapter 4**

**An Unforeseen Enemy**

Sora remained still, quietly taking in everything around him in anticipation of the Heartless' attack. The night was cold, a bit too cold in fact but despite him telling Kairi to take it easy and stay home she refused, saying that they couldn't miss a single day of training since they didn't have the time. At least she looked a lot better than before, not that it put his mind at ease about the subject though.

One of the Heartless pounced at him suddenly, breaking him out of his thoughts and causing him to retaliate almost immediately with a horizontal slash that cut the Heartless in two. His eyes narrowed, he watched as what remained of the Heartless faded away as some odd pink energy floated upwards before disappearing. He watched the display oddly before the others pounced at him, almost as if the death of their counterpart had enraged them.

Sora jumped back, dodging a few attacks, before charging in and swing his blade, making contact with a few Heartless that faded to nothingness though this time he didn't have time to admire the odd pink lights. A couple of Heartless were upon him almost immediately but he raised his blade just in time to block before counterattacking with a well placed swing that cut through them both. The others backed away, as if rethinking their strategy while he held the Keyblade in front of him with both hands.

"Those are called Shadows," Kairi spoke up. "These are the weakest type of Heartless, which can be dozens of different types."

He nodded in understanding as his eyes darted between the remaining five Heartless that twitched in an odd manner. The grip on his blade tightened slightly and he decided that this time he should be the one to attack first. With that in mind, he ran forward and stabbed at one of the Shadows, before twirling in place and swinging in a wide arc to cut through the remaining foes that could do nothing as they were struck down.

Sora grinned as he visually relaxed when seeing that there were no more Heartless left. To be honest, he thought that they would be more of a challenge but they mostly just stood there and only attacked occasionally.

"Don't get too comfortable," Kairi scolded when noticing he wasn't paying attention anymore. "Heartless, despite lacking reason, appear in waves as a way of scouting. If the weaker ones are defeated then stronger ones will come. Be on your toes Sora, do not look away for a second. A fight can only be won if you have respect for the opponent, no matter how weak."

He nodded in response, once again holding his Keyblade defensively.

It wasn't long before the next wave of Heartless appeared bearing a striking difference to the others. These were bigger, had arms and legs, and looked more like a kinght-type warrior.

"Those are called Soldiers." Kairi explained before he could ask, "These are stronger than Shadows and are fast."

Almost as if emphasizing the point, one of the Soldiers dashed at him at a fast speed, only giving him enough time to raise his blade to block its incoming clawed hand. Sora pushed against it hard, making the Soldier recoil back, leaving it wide open as the Keyblade tore through it with ease. Once again, a pink light emerged from its fading body before disappearing in the air.

The observation almost cost him as another Heartless was upon him in a manner of seconds. Sora cursed as he blocked the attack but not without receiving a scratch on the back of his hand, drawing blood but not too much. Ignoring the stinging pain in his hand, Sora kicked at the Soldier's chest before cutting through it with the Keyblade, once finished with that one he sidestepped a dashing Soldier before blocking another with a loud _'clang.'_

As he prepared to counter, he noticed another one moving towards him at a rapid speed. Without thinking, he knocked the Soldier back before somersaulting over the incoming Heartless. His eyes widened in disbelief when he landed but he quickly regained himself and cut through the two Soldiers and faced the remaining three.

Like the Shadows, Soldiers appeared unable to sit still since they were swinging their arms from side to side in a lazy manner. He would have thought that they weren't interested in fighting but he already knew just how quickly they could reach him. His eyes hardened as he took a defensive stance as one of the Soldiers charged in at him, followed closely by the other two. Time seemed to slow down as Sora ran at them, cutting through the first, the second, and the third in a single movement.

"Very good, you're learning how to use your instincts," Kairi praised with a smile. She couldn't believe just how fast he was grasping everything. If things continued like this then they would have no problem with her pursuers. "We'll call it a day for now and continue with some new training tomorrow."

"Sounds good," he responded in relief.

Before the two could get too comfortable the ground began to shake, making them stumble on their steps.

"Earthquake?!"

"Here? Are you serious?!" Kairi shot back worriedly before her eyes widened in horror when seeing a massive mass of darkness gathering in a single place.

"What's that?" Sora asked as the wind began to get harsh, making the already cold weather much worse.

"That's..." She grit her teeth when seeing the darkness take form. There was nothing they could do to stop it. Sora wasn't ready and she was too weak to fight. "Listen Sora, you have to get out of here. I'll hold it off and give you enough time to get away."

Sora frowned, "Are you crazy? The reason I'm training is to help you! There's no way I'm leaving you alone!"

"You don't understand, that's not a normal Heartless. It's a Darkside," Kairi stated dryly, "They are one of the strongest type of Heartless, only numbered Keyblade Wielders can fight them and win. I have no idea why it appeared here but you need to leave right now!"

The Darkside raised one of its fists which became shrouded in a dark swirling aura.

Kairi watched the display in panic before quickly grabbing Sora by the arm and jumping high in the air.

"Whoa! How can you jump so high?!" Sora yelled in surprise but his attention was redirected from the impressive jump to the Darkside that punched at the ground. He flinched, expecting a loud crashing noise but nothing came, the arm instead went through the ground without so much as a sound. The giant Heartless lowered to the ground, as if reaching for something much to Sora's amazement, "What is that thing doing?"

"I don't really know," Kairi answered truthfully as the two landed safely on the ground though she felt weak after her jump. How she hated feeling like this, it made her feel frail and useless. Just standing took effort, what the hell had _Number Six _shot her with during their fight?

She was brought out of her thoughts as the Darkside actually pulled something out of the ground, a massive ball of swirling black and purple matter. Sora gasped at her side and she caught herself before doing the same, if she were to act scared it would make him nervous.

If only she had even a quarter of her strength back... That would be more than enough to take care of that dumb hulking thing.

The dark side raised the orb of darkness over its head before it shot at the air and exploded. Sora and Kairi watched the 'attack' oddly but were forced to move as a smaller version of the ball descended towards them from the ground. The small attack exploded against the ground, leaving behind a small crater as more of the same balls descended upon them.

"Get behind me!" Kairi cried out as she summoned her Keyblade and held it protectively in front of them. "Reflect!"

A type of shield made up of transparent energy went up around them, taking on the small orbs of darkness aimed at them. Sora must have counted around ten before the shield exploded outwards, not causing even a scratch on them.

"Whoa." Sora admired the spell but sobered up when seeing Kairi fall on the ground breathing harshly. "Kairi!" He kneeled at her side unsure of what to do. The girl was covered in sweat and looked quite feverish.

"Sora... You have to get out of here," she repeated her earlier words while fighting off the urge to give in and lose consciousness.

"I can't leave you."

"You h-have to," she stammered weakly as her eyes closed.

"Kairi!" He shouted in panic and tried to shake her awake. "Damn... What am I supposed to do?" A sense of panic set in. Kairi was unconscious and was in bad shape, he didn't want to think of what would happen if he actually left like some ungrateful coward.

Against his better judgment he summoned his Keyblade and ran at the Heartless to draw its attention. The small moment of inspiration seemed to work as the Darkside followed after him with its eyes and moved away from the unconscious Kairi.

_'Good, now I have to find a way to hurt it,' _his mouth formed into a thin line as he came to a halt and held the blade at his side, eyes darting about in an attempt to find something that could help him. Of course there was nothing on the empty field. That meant that he had nothing but his Keyblade and quick-wit, the latter being something he'd never really used though not for lack of trying.

As the Darkside raised its fist Sora was on the move, expecting it to reach into the ground gain but it proved to be a wrong assumption as its fists headed straight for him. He yelped in surprise but managed to roll away just in time and, not stopping to think twice, he charged in at the hand and brought the Keyblade down on it, causing the Darkside to screech in pain as its whole right hand came off before dissolving on the ground.

"I can do this!" Sora told himself and charged in once again, this time planning on attacking the large feet but he was stopped by a deafening roar coming from the creature. His ears rang as the Darkside raised its right leg and brought if down on the ground, causing a powerful tremor.

The teen stumbled before watching in horror as the Darkside's massive fist came down on him. Without time to get away or think, he could do little more than raise his Keyblade to block but was ultimately sent hurling back like a rag doll. He was unconscious before crashing on the ground.

The Darkside's eyes lingered on the defeated teen before moving to Kairi. A soft silence settled in the area before the giant Heartless moved towards the unconscious girl. Its footsteps boomed in the empty field before stopping once it reached Kairi.

At the same time Sora slowly regained consciousness. His head was killing him, where had that thing hit him? Slowly pushing himself off the ground he froze when seeing the Darkside standing over Kairi.

The massive Heartless raised its left fist with killing intent glinting in its eyes before punching at the girl.

But the fist was stopped.

Sora, gritting his teeth and grunting loudly, held the Keyblade with both hands, one on the hilt and the other on the blade. His whole body was under harsh strain but he managed to hang on and hold the massive fist in place.

The Darkside growled as it applied more force against the blade but the teen's blade would not give out. With strength he did not know he had, Sora pushed against the fist with all his might until he took a step forward. His sweaty brow furrowed in concentration as he took another step forward while ignoring how stiff and heavy his whole body felt.

"I...won't let you...hurt..."

Kairi woke up in a panic just in time to see what was happening. Sora was standing in front of her while pushing the Darkside back. Even though she should have been cheering for him, the fact that it should be nearly impossible for a green Keyblade Wielder to accomplish such a feat made it hard to be anything but shocked beyond words.

She watched the scene in fascination before her eyes widened when noticing a blue aura slowly surrounding his body and glowing in the darkness, "No way."

Sora grunted as he continued to push against the fist and felt the task getting easier, probably because the Darkside had lost its footing or something. Even so, he took advantage of whatever happened and pushed with all he had, finally managing to knock the whole arm aside, making the creature flinch in surprise.

"I won't let you hurt Kairi!" He exclaimed as he charged in and jumped at the Darkside's chest, unaware of the fact that he had ascended several feet, and swung downwards in a vertical slice.

The Darkside howled in pain as a deep wound was inflicted around the hole on its chest.

Sora crashed on the ground but managed to shakily get on his feet. Breathing heavily, he held the Keyblade in front of him before relaxing his stance when seeing the Heartless backing away. The giant dark creature slowly lost its shape before disappearing into the ground leaving no trace of it behind.

No sooner than it disappeared Sora collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

"Sora!" Kairi cried out and slowly rose to her feet, taking a few steps forward before stumbling and falling at his side. She groaned in pain before pushing herself to a kneeling position and looking over his condition. "Good. It doesn't look like you're badly hurt," she let out a sigh of relief and collapsed at his side, staring up at the starlit sky, "How am I supposed to get us home now?"

_'How did he manage to make it flee?' _

Now that the initial shock was gone she was left with a lot of questions. While she had never fought a Darkside before, she knew for a fact that only the numbered members of her club/organization were capable of accomplishing such a feat. This meant that Sora was already as strong, if not stronger, than say, Number Twenty. Either way his progress was nothing short of amazing. At the rate in which he was growing, they would have nothing to be afraid of.

Putting that aside for now her thoughts turned to her condition. Now that she had used a strong spell such as _Reflect, _it would take longer for her to heal. This wasn't the case normally but Number Six had shot her with some weird thing. Right after that she fought with Number Five and what was supposed to be a fight she could handle without too much problem, ended up as a really close fight. Whatever the case she hoped to get better soon. It wasn't fair to let Sora handle everything.

She snapped back to reality due to the teen stirring on the ground before opening his eyes.

"You okay?" Kairi asked in concern.

"Yeah..." Sora sat up to look around the area, "The Darkside. It disappeared right?"

She nodded, "You managed to wound it. That's why it left, unlike other Heartless, Darksides value their well-being."

"I see."

"In any case we have to get out of here," Kairi decided as she and Sora stood up, the latter stretching his arms over his head with a yawn. "More Heartless are bound to show up if we stay here. Let's go, the train should arrive at the station sooner or later."

Too tired to respond with words, Sora just nodded and followed after her.

* * *

Sora was not a morning person. It didn't matter how many times he was abruptly torn away from his sleep by an annoyed Kairi, he would not get any better at it and he could tell it was starting to get on her nerves.

How could he tell?

Well, as he ducked under one of her swings before getting his feet kicked out from under him, he had a rough idea. He fell on his backside with a thud but was forced to roll away almost immediately as her Keyblade touched down on the spot where he had just been.

"I'll try to wake up early, alright? Just stop being so serious!"

"What are you talking about? This is all for your sake. Wouldn't you say I'm a good person for pushing you to the limit?"

"No way! You're just insane!"

Kairi scoffed and stopped her attack. "I think now's a good time to stop. We've been training for a good three hours," she wiped some sweat away from her forehead as the space around them returned to its normal color.

"Really? It didn't feel like three hours," Sora crossed his arms in thought. "I don't even feel as tired as before. Are you sure you're not just losing your touch for telling time?"

"I'm sure," she responded in annoyance, "You're just getting used to training this much. I might have to push you even harder if we want to continue getting results."

He'd heard something like that before. How people needed to push themselves harder and harder if they wanted to improve at something. A frown etched on his face when he thought of the last thing.

"Hey, I know that my training has to grow in intensity and all but you should really be resting," he pointed out with his arms crossed, "Otherwise you'll never get better. I don't plan on fighting all of your battles, in case you were wondering."

"I know that but someone has to watch over you. Who knows if you'll slack off once I leave!"

Sora wanted to argue about the insult but knew that she was right. Yeah, he'd probably train but in the end he would end up slacking off or just finding something else to do. A sigh escaped his lips at the thought, his will was anything but strong.

"Alright then. Since our training is over, you can go home while I go buy some stuff at the store," Sora decided. When seeing that she was about to argue he held up his hands to stop her from interrupting, "I'm serious Kairi. You need to rest. Not so you can fight but to be healthy." He gave her a small smile as the wind ruffled his hair, "I promised myself that I would protect you and that includes watching over your health. So please rest, do it for me."

_'W-What?!' _A bewildered Kairi thought as a blush spread across her face.

Just now...her heart skipped a beat. She didn't even think it was an actual thing until this very moment. Why did it do that though?

Could it maybe have something to do with how the wind caressed Sora's slightly damp hair? Or how his skin seemed to shine against the sun's rays due to his workout?

"See I told you," Sora scolded with a pout. "Now you look a little red," he got a bit closer and studied her face, making the girl back away and blush even deeper.

"F-Fine! I'll go!"

Satisfied, Sora smiled as he watched her leave before calling out to her, "Do you want me to buy you something from the store?"

"Yeah. Buy me something sweet!"

He chuckled, "Got it!"

* * *

Sora hummed to himself as he walked through the streets with a plastic bag on hand. Last time he went to buy groceries he forgot all about needing new detergent since he was running low. Now with that settled he could wash his school uniform and have it ready for tomorrow.

He caught sight of something and stopped walking. Standing outside the display window of a store was Xion with her cat resting comfortably in her arms.

"Hmm...Which do you think I should buy?" She said to no one in particular as her eyes scanned the various items on display.

"What are you looking for Xion?"

Xion looked at him in surprise before smiling, "Ah. Sora, great timing. I need your help again."

"Are you going to buy stuff for your cat?" Sora wondered as he glanced at the various items meant for pets.

"Sometimes I'm not home and I want her to be okay without me."

He nodded, "So you're looking for toys and stuff? Oh. Did you buy the things for your cat that we talked about yesterday?" At her puzzled expression he guessed she didn't, "Fine. Let's go inside and I'll help you find what you need."

Xion nodded and followed him inside.

* * *

It wasn't long before the two emerged from the store with various bags on hand. As they began to walk Sora couldn't help but be amused by how content Xion looked and the amount of childlike wonder glimmering in her eyes. He smiled to himself and didn't notice that she had slowed down until he heard a thud right behind him.

Turning around in surprise he let out a gasp when seeing Xion laying on the ground breathing heavily with her bag's contents scattered on the ground. Sora was at her side in an instant, looking over her in worry as the cat meowed next to her, as if it were worried about her as well.

"Xion! Come on wake up! What happened?!" Sora held her in his arms before picking her up and looking around in panic. He should find a hospital or something but they were pretty far. He'd need a car and-

"I'm okay," Xion interrupted.

His eyes widened as he looked at the girl in his arms to see that she appeared to be perfectly healthy, "W-What?"

"Don't worry, these _attacks _happen from time to time. A doctor has already looked into it and told me that while a bit dangerous, their not life-threatening ," she explained. Sora nodded absently and put her on the ground. The girl walked over to the stuff scattered across the ground and sighed, "Aww. Now Claire's toys are all dirty."

Rendered speechless over the sudden shift in health, Sora watched quietly as Xion picked up the toys and placed them in the plastic bags from the store. Once finished, she turned to him and bowed.

"Thank you and I'm sorry for making you worry."

"Don't mention it..."

With that said she began to walk away. He was about to call out to her but stopped when spotting Kairi in the distance.

"Sora! You forgot to give me the key to the apartment you idiot!"

He growled before shouting back, "You should have asked! Don't expect me to remember everything Kairi!"

"I asked you to give me a spare key just yesterday but no, you said that we didn't need one," she rolled her eyes as the teen walked up to her.

"Considering the fact that I have to pay for it, I'd rather we make due with one than get another one," he argued.

The two continued their argument as they walked home, unaware of the fact that they were being watched.

* * *

A hooded man stood before a large monitor playing a clip of Sora and Kairi walking together. The man smiled as he sat down on an office chair and chuckled.

"Trusting people is not your style, Number Four. Now you've made it easy for me to capture you." He grinned and typed a command on his keyboard.

* * *

_'Bring the boy to me. You may use force but do not kill him. We'll need him to lure Number Four to us.'_

The command sounded from the earpiece of a hooded figure standing on a tall building overlooking the majority of Twilight Town. With it being nighttime, finding them would be a bit difficult but not impossible.

"I understand Master." The figure spoke before dropping off the building, planning on carrying out the command.


	5. Far Off Memories

**A/N: Whew. So here's a brand new chapter to kick off February. Once again I would like to thank those of you that reviewed and everyone else that started following this story. **

**Through the Test of Fate**

**Chapter 5**

**Far Off Memories**

_A few months ago -  
_

He woke up disoriented in an unknown room and brought a hand up to his aching head with a groan, finding it covered in bandages.

Where the hell was he? How had he gotten hurt?

Panic began to set in when he realized that he didn't know _anything_. Who was he? Where was he? Why was he here? Did anyone come see him?

Most odd was the fact that he was able to formulate actual possible answers. For example, he quickly figured out that he was in one of the hospitals of the wealthiest cities in the world. How he knew that was a complete mystery but he instead focused on what he remembered. It was a really hard task since he had no idea what he had forgotten other than his name, his family(?), and friends(?).

"You're finally awake."

A man in his fifties entered the hospital room with a gentle smile on his face. He had a full head of graying black hair and wore the usual doctor clothing.

"I was getting worried since it's been two weeks since you first got here," the doctor chuckled and sat next to him, "Tell me how you're feeling."

Even though he was freaking out on the inside and could not remember a lot of things, he was sure that this overly casual attitude was not common among doctors.

"I can't remember anything. Why am I here?"

The doctor's gentle smile faltered, "The person that brought you here never told us. She hid her face with a hood so we couldn't make out anything other than her voice being that of a young girl's. In any case, you came here with severe injuries. Though you received a few dangerous one on the head, you were in danger of losing your left arm."

His eyes widened at that. Just what the hell had he been doing? As much as he wanted to know he couldn't, it was so frustrating!

"Don't worry. The best doctor in Twilight Town, me, took care of your injuries so you'll be able to return to normal in no time. Err... Except for your memories I'm afraid."

The teen looked crestfallen before looking pleadingly at the doctor, "Do you at least know my name?"

"It was the only thing other than about your injuries the girl told us about," the doctor explained and smiled at the teen in a gentle manner, "Your name is Sora."

* * *

Going to school was a welcomed break for Sora. After training with Kairi for just a few days, it felt like an eternity since he last wore his uniform and head to school. The morning had been uneventful except for the dream he had, well calling it a dream was wrong, it was a memory. Thankfully Kairi hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, otherwise he was sure that she would have insisted on an answer until he ultimately of said girl, he had told her to say in his apartment for obvious reasons. She had said something about feeling bad about not being useful but he shot her down by telling her that he owed all of his progress to her and that she should stop being so hard on herself. After saying this her cheeks had flared up like they did worried him not to know what kind of disease she had. Having a fever come and go so suddenly was a really odd symptom.

* * *

After the first class had ended, Sora sat on his seat feeling sorry for himself.

It hadn't even been a second after he set foot on school grounds before one of his more vocal teachers spotted him and took him to her empty classroom where she proceeded to scold him for being absent. This meeting ended with her telling him to stay after school for a whole month as punishment.

"I can't catch a break..." he muttered to himself.

"You got that right!" Exclaimed a youthful voice as a hand slapped his back. "Only you would be absent right after the radiant Ms. Tifa scolded you."

"Shut up Lea," Sora growled at the green-eyed teen with red hair sitting at the seat next to him.

Another teen approached the two, this one with spiky light brown hair, "Lea's right though. Why didn't you come to school? Are you at that delinquency age?"

"Tidus has a point," Lea spoke up with a nod.

_'Point?! There's no point to anything he said!'_

"Sora here is trying to call out for help and we're not hearing him. I say we do!" He stood up and pointed a finger at Sora, "We wont' ignore your cries for help anymore Sora! We will- Ack!"

Lea was cut off as a book was thrown to his face, courtesy of one annoyed Sora.

"Cut it out Lea. I was only busy with a few things and couldn't make it to school."

"What kind of things?" Lea asked while nursing his nose.

Tidus suddenly lit up, "Oh! You got a girlfriend. Didn't you bastard?!"

"Of course not," Sora shut him down immediately. There was no way he could tell them about Kairi. Even if he told them that she was just a friend the two would go mental and spread the news all over the school and, while he didn't care what people thought about him, them talking about Kairi would be problematic.

"Then what made you miss school?" Lea asked a bit more seriously, "Come on man. We've been friends for years, you can tell us."

_'For years...I know,' _Sora thought a bit sadly.

Only a few months ago he had woken up with no memories of his past life. According to the doctor those memories would never come back and since he was a Twilight Town student, the information was confidential. Anyway, one thing lead to another and he ended up lying about his condition to his _parents_. It still felt weird referring to them like that since they were strangers to him, but not as weird as before. The two cared about him deeply – no – they cared about _Sora _deeply, not the current _him_.

He still had no idea why he hid the fact that he had lost his memory but continued to do the same to everyone he met. Maybe it was because he was so scared of how people would react. He'd woken up utterly alone in a world he did not know. The amount of loneliness he felt was overwhelming but thankfully his _parents _and a few _friends _had visited him, all of them caring about him. That's why he couldn't tell them. If he did then they would act differently around him and make him feel that horrible loneliness again.

Sora knew he was pathetically weak. That's why, to make up for lying to his _family _and _friends_, he vowed to help them or any other person that was in trouble. He would fight for their sake in an attempt to redeem himself, at least in his eyes.

"A cousin came over that day," Sora finally answered Lea's question with a fake smile, "He was in town and went to my apartment for some reason. I couldn't just leave him alone since he doesn't know this city at all."

Tidus nodded in understanding, "Most of your family lives in Destiny Islands, right?" Receiving a nod, he turned to Lea with a smile, "No wonder. You country bumpkins have to stick together in the big city."

Lea grinned, "Of course. Remember the time we met Sora. He had a crumpled up map on his hands and was close to tears."

"I wasn't!" Sora shot back angrily. Despite not remembering what they were talking about, he knew for a fact he couldn't have cried that easily.

Lea and Tidus laughed as an angry Sora tried to make them shut up.

* * *

It was already dark by the time Sora finally got out of school. If there was one thing he hated about winter was how the clock was set back an hour making it so the sun set at around six. He felt as though the day was over by the time he got out of school.

He sighed as he slung his schoolbag over his shoulders. As he turned a corner he realized something strange. At fist he thought that it was just him being paranoid but now that he _really _thought about it, he had not seen a single person on the streets ever since he left school.

Even more weird was the fact that he was standing at an empty plaza surrounded by tall buildings, this was where the Struggle Tournaments were held according to some posters he had seen of the place around a week ago. Now he knew something was very wrong since he could have sworn that he was going the usual way back home and this place was in the opposite direction.

"I can't be going crazy..." Sora trailed off as he looked around the area but found nothing out of the ordinary except for the fact that there was not a single person in the vicinity. He briefly wondered if he should just go home before he recalled one of his conversations with Kairi.

"_What are you talking about? I know every Keyblade is different but I thought all of them had similar powers when it came down to it."_

"_Of course not." _she had scolded, _"Some can use long range attacks, others can strengthen their blades, and some can even use **hypnotic spells**."_

Sora's eyes widened as he summoned his Keyblade and held it out in front of him, "I don't know who's out there but come out now!"

At first there was no response, making him think he was actually going crazy, but before he could relax he saw a black hooded figured jump down from one of the buildings and land in front of him silently.

"Who are you?!" He questioned angrily but received no answer as the hooded figure summoned a Keyblade as well, one nearly identical to his own but with its handle and blade much darker. "I'm not going to ask again!"

The hooded figure's head moved from side to side before stopping to stare directly at him.

"You're...looking for Kairi."

The figure nodded and charged at the teen at a fast speed that left Sora little time to think but still managed to react just in time and raise his blade. Both weapons met with a loud _'clang' _before he tried to push the figure's Keyblade away only to receive a kick to his chest. He landed on the ground but rolled with the momentum to push himself to his feet and run at the enemy.

The hooded figure remained still until the moment Sora swung his blade in a wide arc. Simply by ducking under the attack, the figure easily closed in on the teen to deliver a harsh punch to his face. He recoiled back before receiving another kick to his chest.

"Gah!" He cried out as he fell on the ground with a thud.

Yeah, he'd been insane when he thought that he was anywhere near ready to face these people. With only three hits he already felt his body stiffen up and his eyes blur. He bit back a groan as he shakily stood up and held his Keyblade protectively in front of him.

Almost instantly he was on the floor again with the Hooded Figure standing over him with an extended fist.

_'Damn... This is insane!' _

The figure watched him before suddenly walking away. Sora was at a loss of words as he sat up to see the retreating figure.

"Tell me! Who are you?" Sora questioned but received no reply. "What the hell is going on?! Why are you just leaving?! It doesn't make any sense!" He gritted his teeth as he watched the figure go before a thought came over him, _'What if they took Kairi and were only distracting me?'_

Sora cursed himself for not thinking about that earlier and, biting back the pain, he managed to stand before running after the Hooded Figure. Thankfully the mysterious Keybade Wielder had not gone far. The person was walking on a nearby riverbank. There were still no people around and Sora noticed that his footsteps seemed to echo due to how alone he and the figure were, no doubt the person already knew he was following.

To no surprise the Hooded Figure turned around wordlessly. Unlike before though, the figure's fists shook in what appeared to be rage but he couldn't imagine why. It wasn't like he even landed a hit so why would this person be mad at him.

"..."

"Stop playing around. I'm tired of this!" Sora declared as he gripped the Keyblade's handle tightly.

"..."

"Can't you talk?!"

The figure looked down, startling him.

"W-What are you-"

"Sora."

The teen's eyes widened when hearing the figure say his name. Not just that but...that voice.

"You won't be harmed if you stay low for a few days." The Hooded Figure explained in a girl's voice. She ignored the look of muted betrayal on Sora's face as she continued, "Kairi is my only target. You are not important to us, that's why you can go unharmed."

"You're...Xion, right?!"

The figure looked down before reaching for the hood and pulling it back to reveal Xion with a sad expression on her face.

"Yes. I am Member Number 14... Xion."

* * *

"Sora isn't home yet," Kairi muttered to herself while sitting on his bed.

He had told her that he would be home by six, six-fifteen being the latest. It was now six-thirty. There was no sign of him. From where she was she could see the street that he took to get home, even with it being night she could see it clearly because of the lamp posts.

Kairi was not one to worry. Not because she was incapable but because she always acted _before _she could get worried.

That's why she stood up, locked the door, and ran for the school to make sure he was okay.

With those people looking for them, she feared the worst.

* * *

Sora could only stare at Xion in shock. He'd been rendered speechless from the revelation. Even though he hadn't known her for long, he felt a special connection to her, one that he knew she felt too.

"I will capture Kairi."

"Why?"

"Because it's my duty."

Sora clenched his fists, "Kairi hasn't hurt anyone! She's doing her best to live! So why are you looking for her?! Why can't you just leave her alone?!"

Xion struggled to find the right words but tried to explain it in a way he could understand, "Someone like me cannot go against orders. I only exist to serve."

"What kind of crap are you saying? You're life is yours and yours alone," his eyes narrowed on the girl, "Whether you want to capture Kairi or not, it is your choice."

She looked at him blankly before summoning her Keyblade. Sora tensed slightly but she did not move to attack, she instead held it out in front of him.

"I'm sure you have noticed my Keyblade is very much like yours. Do you wonder why that is?" Xion asked suddenly. Not receiving an answer, she continued. "According to my Master's records, it is impossible for you to remember the experiment."

"What experiment?"

She looked at him dead in the eye, "The Body Modifier Experiment. More specifically, Sample Number 14." Xion dismissed her Keyblade as silence settled between them. "An experiment that allows my Master to place an artificial _Heart _on someone who is in a deep sleep."

"You mean like a coma?"

Xion nodded, "Of course, this needed a large amount of power, which you agreed to give."

"W-What?" Sora looked at her in horror. What could have made him do something like that in the past? Was he some sort of crazy scientist? Or just someone on the wrong side?

"You've always been my friend Sora. Ever since I was _born,_" she explained as her mind thought back on her memories of him.

* * *

_Six years ago -  
_

"Her motor functions are coming back."

"Excellent. It appears the shock therapy was a success."

"The next tests will be ready by tomorrow."

"Good. Take _it _to its quarters."

A girl with long black hair wearing a patient's outfit sat on the corner of a room with a large widow.

People were looking at her again. They were doing that _analyzing _thing she had overheard before. Why did they though? All of her information could be found in her files.

A person entered the room and nodded. The girl understood and followed the person back to her living space, a plain white room with a single bed.

Once the person left the girl, she sat on the bed and stared blankly at the wall.

Like every other day she had nothing to do after those people _analyzed _her. Some times it would be painful but others she would only need to sit there with an odd machine on her head.

She blinked when hearing voices. Odd, no one ever came when her _analyzed _was over.

The door opened and a boy with brown hair entered her living space.

"Hi."

"..."

"My name's Sora."

"..."

"Um..."

"..."

The boy smiled, "You don't talk much do you?"

She nodded her head.

"Well don't worry about it!" The strange boy, Sora, smiled brightly, "I'm gonna keep you company because you look lonely here by yourself."

Looking at his smiling face... It felt like she'd seen him before.

* * *

_4 years ago -  
_

Xion ran through a small park covered entirely by a large glass dome. Behind her ran Sora, smiling brightly like always as he chased after her.

Sora was...he was nice!

Thanks to him she could talk and do all sorts of things!

"Gotcha!"

Xion laughed as Sora wrapped his arms around her neck and tickled her sides.

"S-Stop Sora!"

"Never!"

She continued to laugh until he finally let her go and moved to sit own on a nearby bench. Xion went to sit next to him but noticed that he had a gloomy look on his face again.

For some reason that was a common occurrence. Sometimes when he thought she wasn't looking, he would look at her with a sad look that was gone as soon as she looked at him more closely.

"Hey, Xion..." Sora trailed off as he glanced up at the clear sky outside of the dome. "I'm gonna have to leave for a while."

"Outside this building?" Xion asked, referring to the place that she had never left. The outside world was a mystery to her.

He nodded, "I don't know how long I'll be gone."

"You'll be back before a week right?"

Sora would sometimes leave for a week for reasons he never talked about. It was strange but she didn't try to make him tell her.

"More like...months."

"Eh?"

* * *

_2 years ago -  
_

"Did you bring me anything this time?!" Xion asked happily before breaking the hug with Sora.

"I always do, don't I?" He smiled that bright smile of his and gave her a small box, "It was hard to get so you better be exited."

"Whoa!" She opened the box to reveal a small brown bear plush toy with a red headband. The girl lit up immediately, "Thank you Sora!"

"That's the character you like right?"

"Yeah!"

They shared another hug before he pulled away and patted her head. "I heard you're gonna be leaving this place in a few weeks."

"Right!" Xion nodded, "Master says I can finally leave now that my training is over."

She noticed he flinched at the word '_Master'_ but he quickly shrugged it off and smiled, "Let's make a deal then. Once you get out of here, I'll take you out for sea-salt ice cream."

"Is it delicious?"

"Of course!"

* * *

_A few months ago -  
_

"Memory loss?"

The doctor nodded with a downcast expression, "Unfortunately those memories will never return. The damage he suffered was too great for me to fully heal. I had to prioritize motor skills over memories."

Xion nodded and wordlessly entered the hospital room where Sora lay. His head was heavily bandaged and he had a cast on his left arm. Not for the first time she wondered what it was that he did whenever he disappeared.

Now she would never find out.

It made her happy to know that he'd never be in the same danger again but it made her sad to realize that he would not even remember her name.

Despite feeling this way she knew that it was no use to linger on such things. Someone like her was not made to feel emotions like these, she could not cry.

She tried to distract herself and her eyes found a paper bag at his bedside. Curious, she took it and looked inside.

In the paper bag was a bear plush toy wearing a tuxedo and a top hat, the same series as the one he'd given her long ago.

…

It turned out...

She _could _cry.

* * *

"I won't let you die Sora," Xion declared, "That's why I need to capture Kairi before anyone else finds you."

Sora shook his head, "Xion... I'm not sure what our relationship was but I can't let you get Kairi. I made a promise to protect her."

She frowned, "Then I have to fight you-" Her eyes widened when he dismissed his Keyblade and held up his hands in surrender. A relieved smile formed on her face, "Good. Now tell me where-"

"I won't let you capture Kairi," Sora interrupted, making Xion glare at him. "And I don't want to fight you. I may not have any of my old memories but by the way you want to protect me, I can tell that you and my past self cared for each other deeply. That's why...even if I end up getting hurt, I won't trample over the feelings of my old self!"

Xion gritted her teeth as her Keyblade appeared in her hand, "I will seriously attack you Sora. If you insist on protecting her then I'll make you forget about that promise!"

With that said she charged in at him. Fully expecting him to dodge her swing, she gasped when he didn't move and her blade cut through his torso, causing a shallow wound that drew blood. She froze in horror as he fell on the ground with blood staining his school uniform.

"W-Why...? Why didn't you dodge?"

"I already told you," Sora gritted his teeth as he rose to his feet and raised his hands again, "I won't fight you."

"What's your problem?!" Xion exclaimed as her eyes brimmed with angry tears. A blue aura surrounded her as the wind in the area grew violent, making Sora shield himself with an arm. "I'm doing this so you don't get caught up in fights again! I'm doing this to protect you! I'm doing this because I care about you! So why?! Why?! Why don't you quit?!"

Sora smiled in response, making Xion shed tears.

That smile...

It was the same as always.

Xion looked down before releasing a loud scream from the bottom of her heart. Months of loneliness resurfaced as a harsh wind exploded around her, hurling Sora against a building's wall. His world went blank before he landed on the ground.

* * *

Sora woke up to the sound of sobbing. Confused, he sat up to see a crying Xion at his side. He looked at her oddly before she tackled him to the ground with a hug and cried on his chest.

"X-Xion!"

"Sora!" She cried as she hugged him tighter, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for hurting you."

He patted her head with a fond smile, "Don't worry about it. I'm okay."

She nodded but did not let go. Seeing him again after he lost his memories had hurt, but now she realized that she should have never left his side. He was still the same person. He hadn't changed.

"Hey...Xion."

"What is it?"

"Don't say stuff like _'my life belongs to him' _anymore," he asked softly, "I'm sure my past self would agree. You have to value your life. It doesn't belong to anyone but you."

She remembered the way he would flinch whenever she said _'Master' _and now knew why. It was because he didn't want her to think of herself as some sort of tool. Because he thought that-

"You're just as human as anyone else."

Xion continued to cry on his chest, making him chuckle and pat her head.

"Come on, don't cry anymore."

"I-I'll try!"

Sora smiled as he held the crying girl.

* * *

Kairi watched the scene from the shadows while panting. After having checked the school she tried to _sense _him only to find out that he was with someone wielding a Keyblade. Her fears proved to be wrong as she arrived to see Sora holding a sobbing girl.

She recognized her as Xion, Number Fourteen. Among the Keyblade Wielders she was one of the most quiet ones. Whatever made her cry and how she knew Sora was a mystery to her but it looked like he wasn't in any danger.

Seeing as he was going to be okay she made her way back home. It would be rude to intrude on their privacy any longer.


	6. Vexen

**A/N: Wow. This chapter was really tough to write. I found out that even though I wanted to write fight scenes and figured I would be good at it, they're really hard to write. I must've written the same part ten times before finally being okay with it. So yeah, that's me venting a little, enjoy the chapter. ****  
**

**Through the Test of Fate**

**Chapter Six**

**Vexen**

Sora pulled away from Xion and offered a small smile as the girl finally stopped crying. If he had a feeling before, it was now clear that whatever their relationship had been in the past, they were very close. It was comforting to know he made the right choice in not fighting her. Having done so would have gone against the wishes of his old self.

"I have to go now," said Xion while wiping away her tears.

"Where to?"

"Away from here. I can't stay."

He was beginning to see a pattern. Be it an order or some sort of easy way out, Xion would carry it out despite what she wanted. Like how she tried to capture Kairi and avoid fighting with him, during that time he could tell that she was running away from her feelings and he knew that she would have even fought him seriously just to get away quickly were it not for his words.

"What do _you _want to do?"

Xion looked at him in surprise, not expecting the sudden question.

"You can't keep doing what other people want you to. And you can't keep doing what you think will protect others at the cost of your own happiness. You should follow your own heart for a change." Sora smiled and placed a hand on his chest, "The current _'me' _might not know you, but we're friends, right? That's why I think you should do what makes you happy!"

"I..." Xion looked down, her eyes shadowed by her bangs, "I want to stay...close to you. But I know I can't." Her shoulders shook as she explained, "My Master can see my location whenever he wants. Not only that but if he finds out that I want to help you, he could kill me with the push of a button. That's why, even if I want to, I can't stay."

"Don't worry about it," Sora smiled as he rose to his feet and put on a determined expression. "I'll break his hold on you," he turned to her with a grin, "I promise."

She could only watch as he ran off, her feelings preventing her from running after him. It was a good thing that he didn't know where to find her Master, it wasn't that she didn't want Sora to break the hold on her life, but because she didn't want him to get hurt. He was much weaker than he used to be.

"Sora..."

* * *

Sora ran through the night streets of Twilight Town, noticing more and more people filling the streets. It looked like whatever Xion had used to divert their attention elsewhere had worn off.

He pulled out his phone and called Kairi.

"_Sora?_"

"Kairi, I need your help," he began as he came to a halt near a bus stop. "I'm pretty sure you already know who Xion is so I'll get straight to the point. Do you know who Xion refers to as _'Master?'_"

Kairi went quiet at the other end of the line in apparent thought before finally answering his question.

"_It's most likely another member of the organization. A man known as Vexen, a scientist._"

"What do you know about him?"

"_Not much. He mostly kept to himself in his lab. None of the other members ever went there, our superiors had us under strict orders not to go unless we were asked by them. Not even Vexen himself could take anyone to the lab._"

"This lab... Do you know where it is?"

"_It's a tall building downtown. Pretty easy to spot since it has the organization's insignia on it._"

"So it'll be the only building with some ridiculous sign on it. Thanks."

Before Kairi could ask why he needed the information he hung up the phone and ran. The bus wouldn't be coming for a while so he'll need to take a train there.

This very night he would break the hold this Vexen person had on Xion. It was the least he could do not just for her, but to his past self.

* * *

Green eyes lit up in glee when seeing what was happening just a couple of blocks away from his lab. It had to be his lucky day, there was no other explanation. Just when he needed a new test subject, Sora, the boy that had helped him in the birth of Xion(Sample No.14) was running straight to his lab.

Xion had done well to make the boy come to him.

There was a problem though. Despite being a ranked member of a certain organization, he was not a capable fighter, instead relying on his cunning and inventions. The boy had proved his power time after time in the past, he was sure that if pushed, that same power could come out in sudden outbursts.

No matter.

His pets would probably be enough for Sora at his current level. He'll ask them to attack with an immediate knock out in mind just to make sure nothing went wrong.

A smile played on his lips as he let his mind linger on the past for just a few moments.

Around six years ago Vexen had prepared a new test subject for his experiment. For years he had been fascinated by the idea of making an artificial _heart _and placing it on a living being. If everything went like he wanted then the host, even without any potential, could summon a Keyblade after being taken over by the artificial _heart_.

But after is latest experiment he was beginning to think it'd be impossible to accomplish this. The power needed for the experiment to work was too much and he wasn't about to ask anyone in the organization for help. None of the members with enough power to be useful would approve of his goal.

This left him with only one choice. Find someone for the task in one of the many other organizations spread across the globe.

Luckily, one of his double agents infiltrating other organizations had come across a very peculiar boy with extraordinary potential. According to his spy, this boy was a student at a prestigious school in Hollow Bastion, a very rich city, and member of an organization despite being only nine years old. This boy was the perfect candidate for the task.

Two weeks passed before Vexen could finally meet the boy in Hollow Bastion, thanks to his spy telling him where to look. The boy was easily approachable and trusting.

While he appeared to be normal, only one that did not know where to look would fail to notice the amount of power he had. It rendered him speechless for a few moments before he finally explained why he had approached him. Of course, without telling the boy the exact details, he agreed to help under the impression that his power would help a girl wake from a long sleep. Not a complete lie but not a truth either.

In only one week, Xion(Sample No.14) was born.

Despite using a large amount of his power, Sora was back to normal in just two days. Vexen then asked the boy to visit Xion whenever he could under the excuse that she did not have any friends or family, while the truth was that her powers would grow much faster if she was near the major source of her power. The rest was history.

"Come Sora," Vexen smirked as the teen came to a spot before the building. "I look forward to seeing you face to face."

* * *

A sense of foreboding came over Sora as he stepped into the building, around thirty stories tall. Not only had the doors been unlocked, there was literally no one in the lobby. The spacious room had large windows, a long reception desk, gray floor tiles, and a flight of stairs next to a couple of elevators.

They were most likely expecting him.

Deciding that using the stairs was a lot safer, Sora began his trek up the building in search of Vexen.

* * *

Kairi looked up from the book she was reading when hearing someone knocking on the door. It was probably Sora again, she swore to get the idiot to make another key if it was the last thing she did.

"Are you finally going to get another key made?" She huffed when opening the door only to freeze in shock when seeing Xion standing there. "W-What are you doing here?"

There was no way she could fight her off but that was the least of her worries. Where was Sora? Had she pretended to be vulnerable in order to easily take him out?

Her worries were lessened when Xion asked, "Where's Sora?"

"Huh? What do you mean? I thought he was with you!"

"He ran off somewhere. I thought he would come looking for you."

Kairi rubbed her head in thought before her eyes widened in horror. Sora had asked a lot of weird questions over the phone, she had thought that he was just curious about Xion but now... She cursed herself for underestimating Sora's impulsiveness before picking up her jacket.

"It'll be dangerous but I think I know where he is," she explained in a serious tone. "I want to know if I can trust you."

"You can't," Xion responded dryly. "But," she clenched her fists as a look of determination showed on her face, "If Sora is in some kind of trouble then I'll help you."

"Good," Kairi nodded as she pocketed the apartment's keys and left with Xion.

* * *

"This might not have been a good idea," Sora panted as he continued to run up the stairs. He was now on the twelfth floor still with no sign of the stupid lab. His common sense told him that the bad guy's lab would be at the top floor but now that he thought about it, maybe it wasn't. That's why he decided to explore this floor and search for some sort of map that laid out what was in each floor.

The halls were dark, only a few dimmed lights leading the way. He looked around suspiciously, half-expecting something to jump out and attack him. As if mocking him, exactly that happened.

A Heartless, looking like a taller version of a Shadow but with longer antennas and visible muscles, jumped at him as soon as he rounded a corner. His reflexes had thankfully kicked in and the Heartless was cut in two by a vertical slice of his Keyblade. Before he could relax, he noticed a group of those same Heartless looking at him from the large room he had just entered.

"Wow...I don't suppose you guys understand me but...give up?"

The Heartless screeched as they jumped at him with the intention to kill. His first instinct was to run was to run away but when he spotted a map, just what he'd been looking for, hanging on the wall behind the Heartless, he knew that he couldn't run.

His eyes narrowed on the closest Heartless as he charged in and cut in in half, before rolling on the floor to dodge a clawed hand and tearing through another foe. Instinct took over as the rest of the creatures ran at him with murder on their yellow eyes.

He dodged the first clawed swipe, blocked another to his side, and jumped over a Heartless that decided to try to pounce on him. While on the air, another jumped after him but he easily stabbed its chest before landing safely on the ground and swinging in a wide arc, taking out three of the many Heartless.

Far from being done, he closed in on the nearest enemy and cut through it with ease before the rest of the Heartless jumped at him.

His eyes were a clouded blue as he dodged each of their blows with apparent ease, sidestepping, ducking, and even somersaulting, before retaliating with his own slashes. Before long there were no Heartless left and not a scratch on him. Sora let out a shaky breath, uncertain of where that agility had come from but didn't think much about it, maybe if he became aware of it he wouldn't be able to use it anymore.

He ran over to the map and fought the urge to slap himself. None of the rooms were labeled as 'lab' of course, but only one had 'off-limits' written on it. As his terrible luck would have it, the room was on the basement. Why hadn't he just gone down before moving so high up the building?

"No use feeling sorry for myself, time to end this!" He declared before running over to the stairs and going down.

* * *

Xion ran through the dark streets of Twilight Town with Kairi following behind her. Ever since she heard that Sora had been asking about her Master, she knew that he was in danger. He wasn't even half as strong as he used to be and, according to Kairi, had just started his training with a Keyblade.

Speaking of which, it was a bit odd to see someone like the Number Four of their organization so frail and weak. While she couldn't remember ever giving her more than a passing glance before, Vexen had warned her several times to stay away from the girl. Something along the lines of not wanting to risk being found out but Xion couldn't imagine how Kairi would put the pieces together just by being near her.

"You're not a normal human are you?"

Kairi's sudden question caught Xion off-guard, answering the question.

"I really didn't think Vexen was capable of something like this..." Kairi seemed a bit impressed.

Xion turned her attention away from the odd girl. Well, now she knew that what Vexen had told her before was true. Still, it was surprising to have Kairi figure it out so easily. Maybe it had something to do with the _sensing _abilities she was often praised for.

She was snapped out of her thoughts once their destination came to view, "There it is. Let's hurry!"

"Yeah," Kairi replied as the two moved faster down the streets.

* * *

Sora gritted his teeth as he cut through one more Heartless without stopping his run. The instant he had stepped into the basement floor, dozens of those weird things had appeared. He had tried to fight them all off at first but that was almost impossible since the more and more appeared as time passed.

Rounding a corner and finding a door, he quickly stepped in and closed the door after him. Sora let out a breath of relief before looking around the room. It had a lot of computers and odd large cylinders big enough to hold a person. All of them were lines up on either wall and were connected by wires that met in a big computer placed on the center of the room.

The place also had a set of stairs leading to a loft but he paid no attention to it, instead he stepped towards the important looking computer in wonder.

"What could all of this be for?"

"Maybe I could help you answer that question."

Sora jumped out of his skin when hearing the sudden voice. He was quick to find the source, a man wearing a black hood that was looking down on him from the loft.

"This is where I conduct my most important experiments." The man continued to speak in an overly casual manner. "For example, did you know that this is where Xion was first made? What am I saying? Of course you don't know. Your memories are gone after all."

"Who are you?!" Sora summoned his Keyblade and glared at the man. He already had an idea as to who it was but didn't want to act out on it before hearing it straight from his lips.

"Why, I am the great scientist, Vexen."

The teen growled as he asked his next question, "How did we know each other before?! All I know is that you had my help with Xion, but why did I agree to it?"

Vexen smirked, "Is this what all of this is about? Getting me to answer a few questions." He pointed at the computer in the middle of the room, "If that is the case then I presume you do not care about the computer that gives me power over Xion."

Sora looked pointedly at the man. The guy was planning something. There was no way he would just tell him that without a cause. Was this all a trap?

"Why the worried look on your face? It's almost as though you believe this is a trap. Then again, if you didn't think this was a trap until you stepped into this room then you're a lot more simpleminded than I first thought."

Seeing the look of shock on the teen's face, Vexen smirked in amusement.

"Did you think for one second that I would not know that you would storm in here the moment Xion ran her mouth? I knew from the very first moment I saw you with Number Four, that if I let Xion run around, you'd eventual come to me," he laughed with a shake of his head, "Though finding Number Four was my initial plan, capturing you is a lot more alluring than some lousy Keyblade."

"Tell you what. I'll make you an offer!"

Sora's mouth formed into a thin line as Vexen pointed at him with a grin.

"Work for me. I promise that while the hours are harsh, no permanent harm will come to you. I'll even refrain from dissecting you for two whole years. So, how does that sound?"

"Sorry but I'm focusing on my studies now, I can't fit a job in my schedule."

Sora was terrified of this disturbing person. Every cell in his body told him to run but even so...

"You know. I made a promise-no, I made _two _promises that I won't break. That's why I'll beat you here and break your hold on Xion! Trap or not, stronger or not, even if I have absolutely no chance to beat you, I'll fight to protect those promises!"

Vexen narrowed his eyes, "So be it."

He pulled out a remote control and pressed a button without hesitation.

…

"Huh?" Vexen let out dumbly as he pressed the button again, his face showing a hint of fear.

Sora looked at the man oddly before breaking into a grin, "Looks like whatever trap you were planning on using isn't working."

"Don't get ahead of yourself brat," Vexen growled, his piercing green eyes burning in rage. "The trap was only put in place because I didn't want to get my hands dirty. Regrettably, you will be in a lot more pain than first thought."

"I don't care what you're talking about. Since we're both on equal terms, I have a big chance of kicking your ass!"

* * *

Kairi looked over Xion's shoulder. She was messing around with a phone after plugging it to a box outside Vexen's building.

"This will disable all of his toys," Xion explained. With a satisfied nod she pocketed her phone, "If he's found Sora then this will give us enough time to go and help him. Vexen might be dangerous with all of his traps but without them he's more manageable."

"All right then," Kairi grinned as the two were finally ready to enter the building.

* * *

"You will pay for your insolence!" Vexen exclaimed as a blue shield materialized on his left hand. "Now perish!"

Sora's eyes widened as the a cold wind shot at him coupled with large ice fragments. The teen managed to roll away from the attack but quickly jumped to the side as an ice spiky broke through the ground, barely missing him. He managed to land safely before kicking off the floor, making it to the second story and swinging as soon as he was in Vexen's range.

The man blocked the strike with his large shield, but was not expecting a kick to his side that knocked him back a couple of feet. Sora stabbed at the man only to have him sidestep and retaliate with his shield, pushing the teen back a few steps before swinging his shield at him, its large blue spikes deadly. Reflexes kicking in, Sora blocked the spikes with his blade before gripping the handle with both hands and knocking the shield to the side.

Vexen was left defenseless as Sora swung downwards on his body, making a long shallow cut on the man's torso.

"Gah!" The scientist cried out as blood flowed out of the wound. Staggering back, he raised his right hand, "You'll pay for this brat!"

Sora frowned as a harsh cold wind kicked up in the room, knocking aside the many bookshelves on the large loft. He shielded his face from the many books flying in every direction before they stopped as the wind settled.

"Prepare yourself Sora," Vexen smirked.

The man now had a Keyblade on his right hand, one with dark blue ice for a handle and a pure white blade that had three icicles at the end of the shaft. Looking a bit closer, one could see that the sleeves of Vexen's black cloak were frosted over.

"With your condition I doubt you know what this is," Vexen held out his Keyblade in an admiring fashion. "Every Keyblade has a second stage. One that only a few can obtain. When this happens the Keyblade changes as well as its wielder."

Sora held the Keyblade protectively in front of him. Kairi had never told him any of this, not that he blamed her for it since she probably wanted to teach him at a later time. Even so, while Vexen now looked a lot stronger than before, maybe he could manage to win.

Vexen scoffed as he swung his blade at the air.

Sora, not expecting anything to happen, was caught completely off-guard as a torrent of snow shot at him and struck him on the chest, pushing him back harshly before being pinned to the wall with a loud thud.

"This is so easy!" Vexen laughed. He walked over to Sora with a smile, "Wow...you're really pathetic now. I almost feel bad about going all out against you." To his surprise Sora began to laugh weakly, "I didn't hit you so hard that you're hallucinating did I?"

"Of course not. It's just that...if this is you going all out. Then I think..." Sora gritted his teeth, face turning red as he used all of his strength to break through the ice and land on the floor. Grinning, he pointed the tip of his blade at the older man, "Then I think there's nothing to worry about!"

Irked beyond belief, Vexen glared at the infuriating brat. "If you have a death wish then I'll be happy to oblige!" He screamed as he swung his blade once more, this time mixing in ice spikes to surround the teen who could just watch as the blizzard flung him across the lab.

"It never ceases to amaze me how foolish you are," Vexen admitted while watching Sora try to stand up after crashing against the a wall. "There is no chance for you to win. So why do you keep trying?"

Blood trailing down his face due to a gash on his forehead, a painful sensation on his left side, and his hands losing sensation because of the cold; Sora asked himself the same thing.

Despite the pain he again raised his Keyblade. He knew the answer, it was obvious, he had just said it a few minutes ago. It was because he made two promises that he could not break.

He would find a way to save Xion.

He would protect Kairi.

That was all there was to it. All that was driving him forward.

"I already told you why. Shouldn't a scientist like you be a better listener? Or maybe your old age is making you forget things."

Vexen chuckled, "Don't think that you can lure me in with petty insults."

"I don't need to!"

Without thinking, Sora threw his Keylbade at an unsuspecting Vexen who, despite being surprised by the action, sidestepped without problem.

Again, catching him by surprise, was Sora at arms length with his right fist cocked back.

"Wha-!"

Sora's fist made contact with the side Vexen's face, snapping his head to the side before his body toppled over. His eyes wide in disbelief, his weapons fell off his hands and clattered on the floor.

Vexen growled and tried to stand but was stopped by the tip of Sora's blade pointed at his face. Despite the teen looking worse for wear, he had a weary victorious grin on his face.

"What do you plan on doing? Threaten my life to find how I keep control of Xion?"

"No," Sora answered. He motioned to the computers on the lower floor with his head, "I'll just break everything down there. Starting with the big computer connecting those cylinder things."

Vexen's eyes widened in horror but was cut off as Sora struck him with the hilt of his Keyblade, knocking the man unconscious.

"Now that that's settled..." he dismissed the weapon with a sigh of relief and walked over to the railing to look at the computers. "Time to break this place."

* * *

"Are we almost there?" Kairi asked a bit agitated since they heard loud noises from the stairs on the first floor.

"Yeah," Xion answered as they stepped into the basement floor. She summoned her own Keyblade and put a finger to her lips, "Keep quiet. If Vexen is occupied with Sora then we'll get the jump on him-!"

The black haired girl suddenly stumbled forward with a gasp with her eyes wide in shock, she brought a hand to her chest as if trying to look for something.

"Are you okay?!" Kairi asked, more than a little alarmed that Vexen had somehow spotted them.

Xion nodded wordlessly as a smile spread across her face. "Sora...he did it," she giggled and padded her chest, "I don't feel it anymore!"

"Feel what?"

"Vexen had a computer program always monitoring me. He implanted a chip into my chest and I would always _feel _it communicating with the computer but now it's like the thing is gone! Sora must have done it!"

"Then let's go see him," Kairi reasoned as a merry Xion led the way to the lab.

Xion's fear for Sora's well-being was all for nothing, he actually pulled it off! She should have believed in him. While his strength was mostly gone, his instincts and amazing reflexes were still there.

Approaching the double metal doors, Xion pushed them open only to gasp in shock, followed by a horrified Kairi.

"W-What?"

The lab was a mess. Computers were smashed to pieces, books were scattered all across the floor, and large cylinders were knocked over with some green liquid spilled on the floor. That was the last thing they noticed though as their attention was on the _thing _standing in the middle of the room holding Sora by the neck.

The _thing_ was a dark replica of Sora wearing a black hospital gown. A dark aura flowed out of his body in a black mist as it turned its attention to them, its glaring yellow eyes glowing. Twitching like a regular Heartless, the _thing _dropped Sora and fully faced them.

"What is that?!" Kairi asked loudly.

"I have no idea," Xion answered truthfully, her eyes shifting between the _thing _and Sora. "Vexen's always been interested in Sora's power, my guess is that he tried to replicate it in a clone or something."

"Clone?!"

"He's made some before."

Kairi bit her lip. The _thing_(clone?) clenched and unclenched its hands while moving its head side to side slowly without averting its gaze from them.

It broke into a crazed smile before disappearing from view.

"Where did it go?!" Kairi let out in shock before the _thing _appeared at her side with a pitch black version of Sora's Keyblade on hand. With just enough time to react she managed to raise her blade to block a swing headed straight for the back of her neck.

The _thing _smirked in glee as he swiped at her with its clawed left hand though it was cut off by Xion's blade before it could get close enough.

"GAAAHHH!" The _thing _screamed in pain as it tended to the stump left on its left arm.

"Get Sora and let's get out of here already!" Kairi instructed and received a nod as Xion went to support Sora on her left shoulder. "Let's go!"

The _thing _dropped on the ground while flailing wildly. Darkness surrounded its body as a black sludge shot out of the stump. The sludge began to take form before finally recreating the lost limb.

The creature stood up with a furious glint in its eyes before catching the sound of coughing coming from a floor above. It cocked its head to the side before jumping to the loft and finding the source of the noise, a barely conscious man with a look of horror and awe.

"It's a shame I won't see what you're fully capable of doing..." Vexen lamented with a smirk as his creation walked towards him. "I wonder if they'll be able to stand against you, someone without the ability to think, only driven by instinct. I almost feel sorry for th-!"

The _thing _watched the blood dripping from its fingers in something akin to glee. Now with the source of the noise gone, it could focus on the humans that had hurt it.

It smiled. Their hearts gave them away. Such beacons of light were easy so find.

Walking on all-fours, the creature followed its prey.


	7. Promises

**A/N: Thanks a lot for reviewing guys, I'm glad you're liking the story. **

**Through the Test of Fate**

**Chapter 7**

**Promises**

The hallways of the building seemed to stretch out endlessly to Kairi and Xion who ran through one quickly, the latter being weighed down by the unconscious Sora resting against her shoulder. Thankfully his wounds didn't seem too bad, it looked like they made it before the _thing _could do much. Still, under other circumstances Kairi would have wanted to heal him before escaping but with that weird creature on the loose, they had to keep moving just in case it decided to chase after them.

Kairi frowned as she cast a brief glance at Sora, wondering just why Vexen had been so interested in him to the point of creating a clone.

It suddenly looked like he was someone very important considering he had a past with Xion and the attention of Vexen. Not to sound conceited but if the older man valued him more than capturing her then he really Sora must have had a very impressive past.

She pushed those thoughts away before she could dwell on them too deeply. Right now was not the time to think of such things, there would be time to sort all of it out later when they weren't in danger of being killed by some experiment gone awry.

Almost as if goading luck, a new set rapid footsteps echoed in the empty hallway of the basement. Kairi and Xion glanced over their shoulders to see two glowing yellow eyes closing in on them as the _thing _ran at them.

"Xion," Kairi looked at the girl running at her side firmly. "I'll stay behind and hold that thing off. You take Sora and make sure he's safe, got it?"

Xion seemed to struggle with her words before nodding slowly, "I have no idea why you're endangering yourself like this but... be careful."

Kairi grinned weakly and came to a stop, Oathkeeper appearing on her right hand as she turned to face the _thing_ while Xion turned a corner and disappeared from view.

_'I'm doing this...' _Kairi answered Xion's earlier words as she held her blade at her side in a ready position, _'Because Sora got involved in all of this because of me. If he hadn't met me then he'd be safe at home right now instead of endangering his life like this.'_

The Heartless-like creature leapt at Kairi with a screech.

_'That's why I promise to protect him!' _

Kairi gritted her teeth as she charged in at the creature and cut off one of its outstretched hands, making it recoil back in surprise before she cut off the other hand and a leg in one swift motion. With moves like that of a dance, she twirled, swung, and stabbed at the enemy without missing a beat. Various wounds were spread across the creature's body before she pointed the tip of her blade at its chest and released a large ball of light that sent it flying back several feet.

The Fourth Strongest Keyblade Wielder panted harshly, her dilated eyes taking in the damage of her attack.

Only the Heartless' tattered body remained pinned to a crater in one of the walls of the hallway. It looked like she had won.

"Good. Now I can go back to Xion and check on Sora-!" She gasped mid-sentence when seeing the _thing's _body let out some odd purple liquid that covered its wounds before the remaining liquid reformed its missing limbs. "What is this thing?!"

The Heartless opened its eyes as it pushed itself off the crater to land on the floor with a thud. It quickly got on a standing position and growled, its eyes growing feral.

Kairi scowled as she got in her ready stance.

Things weren't looking too good.

* * *

Xion sat Sora on one of the chairs of the building's lobby as her thoughts drifted to Kairi. While there was not a lot of trust between them, if any for that matter, the only reason they were working together now was because they had a common goal.

She looked over Sora's condition briefly and cast a Cure spell on him. It wasn't the most powerful out of the healing spells but it was the fastest and most efficient. Instead of healing the wound with its own power, the spell increased the speed of the subject's natural healing rate. This varied from person to person but someone like Sora should heal nicely in just a few minutes.

With that done she summoned her Keyblade and headed off to the basement again. While she did not trust or care for Kairi to be brutally honest, it wasn't like her to be on anyone's debt.

* * *

The sight that met Xion upon making it to the basement was shocking to say the least.

Kairi was panting harshly as several puddles of a dark liquid shot into the air and gathered at a single location, slowly making the form of the Heartless-like creature that had been in Vexen's lab.

"Xion? Where's Sora?! I thought I told you to-"

"He's fine," she interrupted with a frown. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not here because I suddenly feel some sort of connection to you," she moved to Kairi's side and held her blade in a fighting stance, "I don't want to owe you anything so I'm here, besides, Sora sees you as a friend."

"All right then," Kairi said as a grin formed on her face though it disappeared once the Heartless formed before them. "This thing just keeps on healing any wound I inflict on it. Not even magic seems to be working."

Xion nodded without tearing her eyes away from the growling creature, "Can you keep on fighting?"

"Yeah. This is nothing."

_'As if you could say that while looking so weak,' _Xion mused. Kairi could not keep on fighting for long, it was obvious to her the moment she set foot on the basement. Her brow was covered in sweat, her breathing was ragged, and her legs shook slightly; only a fool would think she was fine.

"I'll take the lead," Xion decided in a voice that left little to argue before she charged in at the creature before it could attack.

The Heartless was cut in half as the Keyblade Wielder delivered a deadly vertical slice however, the creature did little more than twitch before the dark liquid shot out of each half and, to Xion's misfortune, completed each half with a brand new one. There were now two of those resilient _things_.

Cursing under her breath, Xion pointed her blade at the two before releasing a powerful gust of air that knocked them back several feet.

"We can't keep on attacking without a plan," Kairi voiced in a concerned tone. "If we're not careful we can risk that thing multiplying again. Since its healing itself with that odd liquid then maybe we should freeze it?"

"Sounds like a plan," Xion nodded as she gripped the handle of her Keyblade with both hands and a small blue orb formed at the tip of the blade.

The two creatures screeched angrily as they ran at their prey but were cut off as the small blue orb made contact with one of them before exploding in a freezing wind that froze one of the creatures completely. Cracks began to appear on the frozen Heartless as the whole thing was shattered into tiny pieces.

Xion didn't have time to see if the plan had worked as the other creature swiped at her with its clawed hands but she easily blocked with her blade before taking a few steps back. She then ran at the thing and stabbed at its chest, earning an annoyed grow, but she wasn't done and unleashed a wind spell that hurled the creature against a wall.

Kairi watched what happened with in relief. The remains of the other creature did not rebuild it, meaning that her earlier assumption had been correct. With that in mind she took Oathkeepr and swung it in the direction of the remaining creature, creating a harsh cold wind that froze the target on the spot before its body shattered much like the other creature.

"That should do it," Kairi declared with a weary grin.

"Let's get going already, if we stay too long then we'll surely run into more trouble," said Xion as she and Kairi headed for the stairs to the lobby.

* * *

Sora took in his surroundings in a daze. His chest ached terribly but he managed to sit up and make sense of where he was.

For some reason he was sitting in the lobby of Vexen's lab. But why was he? Last thing he remembered was the weird Heartless-like thing appearing from one of the containers on the lab before it attacked him. The thing must have hit him on the head since it was beginning to throb in pain.

Deciding that staying there was a bad idea, he got up and looked around in thought, wondering if he should go back to the basement or leave the building. Luckily, the question seemed to answer itself as Kairi emerged from the stairs leading to the basement with Xion following after her.

"What's going on?"

"Sora?! You're awake!" Kairi smiled.

"We're getting out of here," Xion joined in with a frown, "Now that Heartless thing is taken care of we have nothing else to do here."

"I see," he nodded before noticing that Xion was giving him a glare, "Um... Can I help you?"

She continued to glare before kicking him on the shin.

"Ow! That hurt!"

"You shouldn't have done something so dangerous," Xion scolded.

Sora grinned sheepishly, "But everything worked out in the end didn't it? Hopefully you don't have to worry about that Vexen guy controlling you anymore."

"Speaking of which," Kairi broke in while giving Sora a look, "You have some explaining to do after we get back home."

"Home?" Xion repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm staying at his place for now," she explained with a shrug, not noticing the slight twitch in Xion's right eye.

Something caught the attention of Sora out of the corner of his eye. A gasp escaped his lips almost immediately before he groaned loudly, earning two puzzled expressions.

"It's already eight," he lamented, "That means that I have just enough time to make dinner, do my homework, and shower. Get it? I don't have any free time today!"

Kairi sighed, "Then let's get out of here already."

* * *

After parting ways with Xion; Sora and Kairi had finally made it to the apartment after what seemed like a long time. Not a lot of words were spoken during their walk, probably because they were all tired after everything they went through. In the end, Xion promised that she would be seeing him around.

Sora was currently sitting on his bed while Kairi sat on a chair facing him, her arms crossed as she waited for his explanation. Now that they were alone she could finally get some answers.

"Let's see... where should I start?" Sora trailed off in thought before clearing his throat. "Okay. I'm gonna start with how things happened from the very beginning," he decided, "It all started the day I woke up in a hospital bed. I had no memory of who I was or why I was at there. The doctor that looked after me said that I had lost my memory and almost my left arm too. I tried to ask if he knew anything about what happened but he didn't know anything."

"Did he say when you'll be getting your memory back?" Kairi asked.

"No. There's zero chance of me ever getting it back," he answered and he grinned nervously, not entirely comfortable talking about it, "It bothered me a lot at first but I'm getting by okay. Anyway, I pretty much settled into a normal life and decided not to dwell on the past. Those memories will never come back so there's no use moping about it."

Sora looked down, "But it looks like my past caught up with me in the end. I met Xion a couple of days ago but learned of our past together just a few hours ago. From what I heard, she was born because of me helping Vexen with an experiment. I still don't know the full details about what our relationship was but I can tell we were pretty close."

"Then you can just ask her about it tomorrow," Kairi reasoned with a sympathetic smile.

"I could but there's something that's really bothering me," he admitted, making the girl look at him in confusion. "My past self was supposedly very strong. I bet he also knew about Vexen controlling Xion, so why didn't he do anything to help her? It was so easy for us to do it so why couldn't someone as strong as him help her?"

"You think there's something else going on."

Sora nodded, "I didn't really think of this until just a few moments ago though. It's probably why I feel so helpless." He sprawled out on the bed and held his right hand up, as if reaching for something, "I mean, the answer are right _there_. If I only had a few of my memories then I wouldn't have to worry so much."

"You don't have to worry." Kairi spoke up in determination. "Whatever happened to you doesn't matter now. Even if your memories won't come back you don't have to worry because I'll be there to help you no matter what. Next time you feel like you need help then tell me, don't go running off in your own again. Whatever happens from now on, to Xion or to someone else, know that I'll be at your side ready to help."

He could already feel the weight leaving his shoulders.

It was odd... They only met a few days ago but he already felt as if she was his closest friend, the one person he could trust with everything. That's why he didn't have any trouble believing her when she said that she would be at his side to help whenever he needed it. Kairi was that kind of person. Someone who would try to protect someone like him from getting in a fight with Terra only a few moments after meeting him.

"Kairi," he genuinely smiled at her, "Thank you."

She smiled back, "You don't have to thank me idiot."

* * *

The sun rose over Twilight Town as various students walked to their schools. This town being bloated with different schools and students, made it hard to walk a single street without seeing someone wearing a school uniform.

Among these students was Sora, a book bag slung over his shoulder flailing wildly as he sped through the streets, bumping into a few angry people on the way. Leave it to him to oversleep, he did go through a hard fight just the day before but the teachers would have none of that. He had a feeling Ms. Tifa would break his nose if he was even a second late.

Thanking his training with Kairi, he continued to speed through the streets without stopping. This new stamina of his was really helpful in situations such as these. Now he probably didn't have to worry about being late ever again.

* * *

"Who might you be?" Isa asked himself with an amused smirk.

Standing atop a tall building in his usual search for the missing Keyblade Wielder he happened upon a peculiar sight. A student wearing some random school's uniform was running through the streets while using quite a bit of his power without realizing it. Seriously, he was like a beacon, how he didn't notice someone like him sooner was beyond him.

Usually a random person with the power to summon a Keyblade would not get his attention, there were easily hundreds that could in his school, but this guy was easily strong enough to be a ranked member of the organization he was a part of. This guy was either a spy from another organization infiltrating Twilight Town or some prodigy that refused to go to a good school.

But as interesting as this guy was, he had bigger fish to catch. The reward for Kairi had grown after news of Vexen's death and the disappearance of Xion had reached their ears. Kairi was the most likely suspect since it was unlikely that anyone else could take out Vexen, the sixteenth strongest, and Xion, the fourteenth strongest.

"Just where are you Kairi?" A smirk played on his lips as he stretched out his senses to try and find her. This was really getting boring though, he wasn't one to pursue a target for so long, he needed a good fight every once in a while.

An idea formed in his mind. If things continued to be this boring then...

Maybe the interesting student running around town could put up a good fight.

* * *

It was getting dark by the time Sora finally got out of school. This time he decided not to think about the fact that his whole day was pretty much spent in school and focus on the positives instead. Like how this time he didn't need to stop by a store to buy something or how he was getting better with a Keyblade each passing day.

He smiled at that as he walked by the park he usually trained at. A chuckle escaped his lips when he remembered that Kairi had not gotten up in the morning, meaning that he got a day off from training.

"Sora!"

'Huh? That sounded like Kairi... She didn't wait for me here to do what I'm thinking... right?'

He swallowed a lump in his throat as he turned to see Kairi walking towards him with a grin.

"We missed morning practice but don't worry, we'll make it up right now."

"But I just got out of school and-"

"No excuses! I already told you that you can't afford to miss a day of training," she scolded with her hands on her hips.

At least she was back to her usual self, she'd looked really tired the previous night so it was something less to worry about.

"Now let's go."

"Got it," he said with his head hung low as he followed her into the park.

The two stopped once they made it to a nice secluded spot behind a set of bushes and trees. It was getting dark so Kairi didn't think anyone would be running around near the Stop spell. As they were about to start, they were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming their way.

"I thought you said there would be no one coming here," Sora whispered to Kairi.

Finally someone stepped into the clearing.

"Xion?" Sora let out in surprise at seeing the girl so soon after what happened. The way she parted ways with them seemed like it would be a while before they saw each other again.

"What are you doing here?" Kairi asked.

Xion grinned, "I'm going to help Sora train too." She moved to his side and gave Kairi a smug look, "As the one that knows him the best, it's only obvious that he should train with me."

"Hey now, let's not fight Xion-"

"You knew the _old _Sora the best," Kairi interrupted Sora's attempt to lighten the mood with a glare thrown at the smug girl, "The one who's teaching him now is me and he's been making good progress. So, why don't you leave us alone so I can focus on his training?"

Xion glared back, "What did you just say?"

Not knowing why she was feeling so annoyed over seeing Xion standing _really _close to Sora with a smug look, she continued to argue, "Only the truth. He's better off being trained by me. Besides, _Number Fourteen_, someone who is only the _four__teenth _strongest should step aside and let me, _Number Four, _help him train."

Sora watched the two argue from the sidelines. He wasn't about to let himself get dragged in between their argument now that the two were locked in a heated debate over who got to train him. Why the two didn't just train him together was beyond him but, as he watched the sun go down in the horizon, he wondered how long he would need to stay.

"This might take a while..." he muttered to himself before being subjected to two harsh glares. He instantly tensed up and stood at attention with a yelp, "Y-Yes?"

"Who do you want to train you?" The two asked simultaneously.

_'I got in between anyway!' _

"Well?"

_'What did I do to deserve this?!'_

* * *

Once the girls finally reached a decision Sora's training had begun once again. The Stop spell was put in place and it was decided that Xion would be the first to spar with Sora to measure his strength. He tried to argue that he already fought with her for a little while before but they were having none of it.

They also decided that they should have a long talk after the training cession was over so that they could straight some things outs.

Sora and Xion stood opposite of each other, both his a Keyblade on hand. Kairi nodded at them to begin as the two of them ran at each other. This being just a spar, they made their first move easy to read, both were swinging horizontally.

The two blades clashed, drawing sparks from the strength behind the swings, before the two swung once again. Sora parried Xion's blow and dished out his own only to have the girl sidestep and kick at his side, but he lowered his right elbow to meet the blow before swinging at her exposed body. The girl's eyes widened as she quickly blocked by bringing her blade to her side.

Kairi frowned as she watched the two sparring.

Sora was much stronger and faster than before but it looked like he hadn't realized. Was this an effect of having to face part of his past? It wasn't likely since he couldn't remember anything but something had to have happened to have him improve so much in so little time. From what she saw, Xion actually had to concentrate on the spar to avoid being hurt.

Oh well. Whatever happened was greatly beneficial to them. If Sora kept on improving like this then he could probably last more than ten seconds against the strongest members of the organization in just a few days.

She grinned as she watched him and Xion exchange blows, their blades meeting loudly as the two jumped away to get a bit of breathing room.

_'I guess this changes our training plan,' _she mused.

With Sora improving so much in his physical attacks, it was time to start teaching him magic and once he grasped that, how to obtain the Second Release of his Keyblade.

* * *

_The previous night -_

The Heartless-like creature stepped into the lobby of Vexen's lab. After pinpointing the location of the three sources of light, the creature split into two so that it could chase after the two that split up. It followed them to the lobby before one of the targets left, leaving behind an unconscious teen sitting on a chair.

The creature was incapable of thought. Only instinct drove it forward, a voice telling it what to do in order to survive. Right now, as it stood over the unconscious teen, it told him something different than before.

Not to kill him like the others.

Instead...

The Heartless raised its right clawed hand before driving it into the teen's chest without the slightest sound or drop of blood, not even his clothes had been torn. Its claws seemed to melt into the body without problem, as if it belonged there.

Its body was enveloped in darkness as it melted into the teen's chest.

_'Now sleep.' _

It heard the voice speak within its mind, though it was difficult to hear.

_'You were created using this boy's powers. You belong within him. Wake up once you are ready to consume him...'_

The voice faded away as the Heartless entered a dark abyss. Doing what it was told, it went to sleep.

Waiting for the right moment wake up and consume its host.


End file.
